Madison, Wisconsin, April 21 – On Tuesday, March 28, a team of activists risked arrest and were formally cited by police in a sit-in at the brand-new Chase Bank branch in Hilldale Mall. Chase Bank is the number one funder of fossil fuels and is directly profiting from the climate crisis, and 350 Wisconsin is committed to showing Chase Bank that “business as usual” is no longer acceptable.
Five activists entered the bank at 1:30 PM and maintained a peaceful vigil with songs and chants for nearly an hour. Outside the bank, supporters rallied with colorful art, banners, and signs to tell passing cars about Chase’s complicity in the climate crisis. The central demand of the bank protest was that Chase stop funding climate chaos, which threatens the stability of our financial system and economy, our lives and livelihoods, and our entire planet.
At the outside rally, Phyllis Hasbrouck (350 Wisconsin organizer) said, “We demand that Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon stop loaning money to companies that mine, refine, and ship fossil fuels. Through such loans, Chase is making billions off of the misery that climate chaos is causing right now. We need a quick and just transition to a 100% renewable energy economy. THis is doable with current technology. What we currently lack is the leadership to make it happen. It’s just a small group of billionaires and megacorporations that are refusing to act..”
John Greenler, 350 Wisconsin Executive Director, says, “Chase Bank is directly funding the fossil fuel infrastructure and the climate crisis, despite their claims to be an environmentally responsible business. Frontline and low-income communities are already suffering, while megacorporations refuse to align their investments with the significant changes that we need – changes that were highlighted by last week’s UN IPCC report, which emphasized that we are running out of time to act.”
350 Wisconsin is part of the national coalition Stop the Money Pipeline, which is focused on ending the flow of money to fossil fuel infrastructure and pushes for a just transition to a sustainable future.
For photos and video clips from today’s event, please visit this folder.
350 Wisconsin (formerly 350 Madison) mobilizes grassroots power to change hearts and minds, laws and policies, and humanity’s massive systems to make transformational progress toward environmental justice and solving the climate crisis by 2030. For more information, visit 350wisconsin.org.
