Last Wednesday, nineteen states announced that they had subpoenaed JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, asking for documents relating to the companies’ involvement with the UN Net-Zero Banking Alliance. These states felt it was against their best interests for these banks to blackball the fossil fuel industry, going so far as to call the banks “corporate activists.” But after doing some digging, it appears these companies are far from “corporate activists,” ranking number 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, and 14 in the world in fossil fuel financing. Ethan argues why the banks’ decision to join the NZBA was more a financial decision than a political one, and how this subpoena has already caused damage to the global banking community’s climate ambitions in this week’s “Tip of the Iceberg.”
The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise.
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CREDITS
Writer: Ethan Brown, Maddy Schmidt
Fact Checker: Megan Crimmins
Editor: Megan Antone
Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt
Ad Voiceover: Maddy Schmidt
Music: Brett Sawka
The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.