To C.S. Venkatakrishnan, Barclays CEO and Noel Quinn, HSBC CEO:
We call on you to stop financing fossil fuels extraction and industrial agriculture, the two biggest causes of climate change, and a direct cause of human rights abuses.
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Barclays and HSBC are profiting from investing in fossil fuel and industrial agriculture companies working in Africa, Asia and South America that are fueling climate change and its impacts on women and girls. What’s more, some of these companies are accused of human rights violations. This is climate injustice and patriarchy in action.
Together, Barclays and HSBC fund the two biggest causes of climate change more than any other European bank. Their biggest investments include:
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Shell - Whose oil spills in the Niger Delta have been decimating fish populations resulting in the loss of countless fishing livelihoods and a sharp rise in hunger for local people;
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ExxonMobil - Who just reached a confidential financial settlement with Indonesian villagers following a two decade-long legal battle over allegations of torture, sexual assault and beatings;
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Total - The main developer of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline across Tanzania and Uganda, but also the Mozambique LNG (liquid natural gas) project, which has displaced thousands of families without adequate compensation.
Women and girls living in poverty are at the sharp end of the climate crisis - they are 14 times more likely to die from climate disasters than men. Disasters such as floods, droughts, and rising sea levels worsen existing gender and economic inequalities and put women and girls at greater risk of health issues and gender-based violence.
“I’ve seen firsthand the devastation extreme weather can inflict on the lives of people who did very little to cause it... what angers me the most is the lack of action that world leaders and huge polluters are taking to halt this crisis. Money continues to be pumped into harmful activities that threaten the existence of our planet and its people.” - Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan climate justice activist
With the world enduring the hottest year on record in 2023, we are at crisis point and climate changes will only become more extreme unless we take urgent action.
Sign the petition now.
Habiba is a farmer in the Maroodi Jeex Region of Somaliland. She has experienced extreme losses since the climate change induced drought in 2022. Credit: Khadija Farah/ActionAid