{"id":19494,"date":"2022-03-02T09:50:55","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T08:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/?p=19494"},"modified":"2023-02-08T15:33:41","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T14:33:41","slug":"letter-to-credit-agricole-break-ties-with-the-russian-fossil-fuel-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/en\/2022\/03\/02\/letter-to-credit-agricole-break-ties-with-the-russian-fossil-fuel-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Cr\u00e9dit Agricole must break ties with the Russian fossil fuel industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paris, March 2nd 2022 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Open letter to Philippe Brassac, CEO of French bank and asset manager Cr\u00e9dit Agricole. <\/b><\/p>\n

In the context of Putin’s war in Ukraine, Reclaim Finance is calling on Cr\u00e9dit Agricole to cease ties with the fossil fuel companies operating in Russia. The letter includes a list of coal, oil and gas companies – from Gazprom to TotalEnergies – that Cr\u00e9dit Agricole should exclude.<\/b>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Dear Mr. Brassac,<\/span><\/p>\n

I am <\/strong>writing to you today to call on you<\/strong> to cease all financial support for energy companies operating in the coal, oil and gas sectors in Russia<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Desmond Tutu rightly said that choosing neutrality in the face of injustice is tantamount to choosing the side of the oppressor. You would be guilty of crossing that line by maintaining your support for companies that are helping to directly fuel Putin’s war in Ukraine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Norwegian pension fund, and other financial institutions, have already indicated that it will divest from Russian companies in their portfolio and we call on you to do the same, starting with divesting from fossil fuel companies. All eyes will be on Cr\u00e9dit Agricole, given you are listed as one of the main bankers and investors of Gazprom, a major Russian fossil fuel company. <\/span><\/p>\n

You will find attached a list of Russian companies present in Urgewald\u2019s Global Coal Exit List and Global Oil and Gas Exit List. They should now be on your list of companies to be excluded from all financial services<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In particular, we call on you to commit to no longer providing new financing, investment and other financial services to these companies, and divest from existing assets. <\/span><\/p>\n

We also call on you to suspend all support for TotalEnergies, Fortum\/Uniper, Wintershall DEA and other non-Russian fossil fuel companies<\/strong> active in Russia<\/strong> until these groups have withdrawn from their operations as BP, Shell, Equinor and ExxonMobil have done. <\/span>Here again, all eyes will be on Cr\u00e9dit Agricole given the group\u2019s financial <\/span>support to TotalEnergies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The war that Putin has begun by invading Ukraine is a stark reminder of the connection between protecting justice, peace and climate action. A<\/span>s the Ukrainian climate scientist and IPCC report co-author Svitlana Krakovska said: \u00ab\u00a0Human-induced climate change and the war on Ukraine have the same roots — fossil fuels — and our dependence on them.\u201d<\/b> Already, almost half of the world’s population lives in a danger zone and the intensification of climate change will increase international tensions and conflicts. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the Secretary General of the United Nations reminded us in reaction to the publication of the second part of the 6th IPCC Assessment Report, our dependence on fossil fuels is a dead end and financial actors must keep their commitments to achieve carbon neutrality or be on notice. A massive and immediate role out of renewables, energy savings and demand reduction, combined with cutting ties to fossil fuels are all necessary and directly contribute to ending our countries\u2019 fossil-fuel dependence, and putting a stop to financing wars and planetary destruction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for your attention.<\/p>\n

With kind regards,<\/p>\n

Lucie Pinson, Executive Director, Reclaim Finance<\/p>\n

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