25 "Billionaires for Dirty Energy" Blockade Citibank Headquarters; 2 Arrested

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Billionaires for Dirty Energy blockade Citibank in New York, USA. 2 arrested
Apr 1st, 2008

At 12:30pm today over 25 people dressed as “Billionaires for Dirty Energy” blockaded the main entrance of Citibank’s Upper East Side headquarters in New York City. Protesting Citi’s role at the lead financier to the dirty coal industry - two were arrested after chaining themselves to the front doors and refusing to leave. Police eventually sawed them out of the chains, and a rally continued in front of the bank.



In Celebration of Fossil Fools Day - Citi takes heat for coal financing

New York, NY - At 12:30pm today over 25 Billionaires for Dirty Energy blockaded the main entrance of Citibank’s Upper East Side headquarters, 2 were arrested by NYPD after chaining themselves to the front doors. NYPD officers eventually had to cut through their chains.

Dressed in tuxedos and top hats, Billionaires are demanding Citibank shift their large-scale investments in coal-fired power plants due to coal’s increasing investment risk. “Coal has lost its appeal as a predictable investment; it is fraught with uncertainty” said Billionaire, Lauren Valle, prior to being arrested by NYPD. “Bottom-line, CITI is mortgaging our future and compromising their own long-term competitiveness.”

Billionaires held large signs reading: “Coal=Too Risky, Citi We Want our Money Back.”

“Climate change will be a major investment theme of the future” said Scott Parkin of Rainforest Action Network. “You don’t have to care what global warming will do to the climate to make a bucket load of money by preparing.” Other notable billionaires that have turned to clean energy for their investment potential include, CEO of GE Jeffrey R. Immelt, Walmart CEO H. Lee Scott, and maverick oilman Boone Pickens.

By all accounts coal is becoming an increasingly risky investment. In the last three months alone, the federal government indefinitely suspended a loan program for new coal-fired power plants in rural areas because of uncertainty about climate change and soaring construction costs. The decision came shortly after three major Wall Street investment banks, including Citi, announced new rules requiring utilities to show that coal-plant proposals factor in the cost of future carbon regulation. In addition, the federal government yanked funding from their expensive, fantastical FutureGen plant.

...

http://www.fossilfoolsdayofaction.org/2008/04/01/billionaires-for-dirty-energy-blockade-citibank-in-new-york-usa-2-arrested/#more-105">Fossil Fools Day

[Forkboy]

1. Friggin' awesome!

:applause:

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. I love it!

[Orwellian_Ghost]

3. Background

Banking on climate change

By blending inside negotiation with outside agitation, RAN’s Global Finance team is pushing banks to stop funding coal development and other carbon-intensive projects that contribute heavily to global climate change, and to elicit meaningful emission reduction targets for their operations and investments.

In late 2006, RAN joined the movement to stop Texas utility company TXU from developing 11 new coal-fired power plants by going directly to the project’s financiers. Dressing as “Billionaires for Coal” and protesting outside bank branches across the country, RAN activists helped spark public outrage over TXU’s massive proposal. More than twenty global banks refused to finance the proposed plants, and the resulting scale-back by TXU proved that investments in dirty energy are a risky business.

Still, more than 150 new coal-fired power plants remain in development in the U.S. that, if built, will emit an estimated 600 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. The CO2 emissions from just one new medium-sized coal plant (500 MW) would:¹

- negate, in just ten days of operation, Home Depot’s efforts to curb climate change by funding the planting of 300,000 trees across the U.S.

- negate, in just one month, Wal-Marts investment of a half billion dollars to reduce the energy consumption and GHG emissions of their buildings by 20 percent over the next seven years.

- negate, in just eight months, California’s recently passed legislation that would cut GHG emissions in new cars by 25 percent and SUVS by 18 percent starting in 2009.

RAN is working to ensure that banks refuse to fund this proposed free-fall into climate chaos. In the coming months, RAN will be pushing two of the world’s largest banks, Citi and Bank of America, to stop funding coal and other dirty energy sources and to instead invest in a clean energy future that prioritizes energy efficiency and renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

...

http://ran.org/campaigns/global_finance/about_the_campaign/

[Quantess]

4. Clearly, they are having too much fun. Civil disobedience is a serious endeavour!

April fools! Just kidding.

[malaise]

5. Absolutely fabulous

Now that was creative. Bravo!!!