{"id":3496,"date":"2017-10-30T18:49:30","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T22:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=3496"},"modified":"2019-11-06T03:29:25","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T08:29:25","slug":"press-release-greenpeace-report-warns-of-risks-to-banks-betting-on-tar-sands-pipelines-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/3496\/press-release-greenpeace-report-warns-of-risks-to-banks-betting-on-tar-sands-pipelines-2\/","title":{"rendered":"PRESS RELEASE: Greenpeace report warns of risks to banks betting on tar sands pipelines"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>30 October 2017 (TORONTO) \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0A new report by Greenpeace and Oil Change International warns of major banks\u2019 exposure to financial and reputational damage due to their financing of tar sands pipelines. The report,\u00a0<em>In the Pipeline: Risks for funders of tar sands pipelines<\/em>, is the first report to examine in depth the range of risks related to all three proposed tar sands pipelines including legal challenges, opposition from Indigenous and local communities, threats to drinking water and economic vulnerability.<\/p>\n<p>JPMorgan Chase, the TD Bank Group and Barclays are among the world\u2019s major banks financing tar sands pipelines and the companies behind them (Kinder Morgan\u2019s Trans Mountain Expansion, TransCanada\u2019s Keystone XL, and Enbridge\u2019s Line 3 expansion).<\/p>\n<p>Alex Speers-Roesch, Oil Campaigner at Greenpeace Canada, said:\u00a0\u201cStronger climate regulations, widespread public protest and a failure to properly consult with Indigenous Peoples have already helped nix two major tar sands pipelines.1\u00a0The same risks plague the remaining three proposed pipelines, making them a high-risk, low-reward bet for their financial backers, including TD and Desjardins.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the major risks identified in the report are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lack of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) from all Indigenous communities impacted by the pipelines.<\/strong>\u00a0On-the-ground resistance is already unfolding along the routes of the Kinder Morgan and Line 3 pipeline expansions. JPMorgan Chase\u2019s human rights policy2states that the bank expects its clients to align with FPIC requirements, raising questions about Chase\u2019s continued pipeline lending.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Negative environmental impacts, including the contamination of drinking water from leaks.\u00a0<\/strong>The companies proposing to build the three new tar sands pipelines have seen\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/research\/four-proposed-tar-sands-oil-pipelines-pose-a-threat-to-water-resources\/\">one spill a week<\/a>, on average, in the U.S. since 2010. New pipelines threaten thousands of watercourses, aquifers and bodies of water with spills. Kinder Morgan\u2019s Trans Mountain Expansion goes through a UNESCO World Heritage site, Jasper National Park, which appears to contravene\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.td.com\/corporate-responsibility\/crr-2009\/environment\/responsible-financing\/index.jsp\">TD\u2019s policy<\/a>\u00a0of not financing projects that operate in such sites.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tar sands pipelines\u2019 economic success is dependent on tar sands expansion.<\/strong>\u00a0Low oil prices and structural changes in oil demand, including Asian and European markets\u2019 shift away from fossil fuel vehicles, raise questions about the long-term viability of the tar sands, and pipelines dependent on their expansion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Short-term lending decisions undermine bank and investor action on climate.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0The three proposed pipelines could add almost 2 million barrels per day to pipeline capacity. Facilitating the expansion of the tar sands and enabling decades-long carbon-lock in risks fatally undermining JPMorgan Chase\u2019s policies, which recognize the goals of the Paris Agreement, as well as TD\u2019s work with the UN to better assess and disclose climate risks and opportunities and Barclays\u2019 plans to develop a sustainable approach for its global energy client portfolio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The report, therefore, recommends that banks do not finance or arrange financing (including the issuance of securities), related to new tar sands pipelines. Existing funders are encouraged to sell their stakes in full or not renew credit facilities. The report further provides bank investors with a list of questions to pose to management to understand whether risks are being properly managed.<\/p>\n<p>Hannah McKinnon Director, Energy Futures and Transitions Program at Oil Change International said: \u00a0\u201cKeeping the tar sands afloat is an inexcusable ethical decision and a reckless financial one. Banks need to decide which side of history they want to be on. The world is moving on from fossil fuels and banks that miss the memo are going to be left with two things: a worthless portfolio of stranded assets and the reputational cost of knowingly financing the climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.secwepemculecw.org\/\">report commissioned earlier this month by the Secwepemc Nation<\/a>\u00a0in B.C., whose land Kinder Morgan\u2019s new pipeline is slated to cross, further details risks related to Indigenous assertions of their rights and title over unceded land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>-30-<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes to editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] Enbridge\u2019s Northern Gateway was cancelled by the federal government in November 2016. TransCanada\u2019s Energy East was cancelled by the company in October 2017.<\/p>\n<p>[2] JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. 2016.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpmorganchase.com\/corporate\/Corporate-Responsibility\/document\/jpmc-environmental-and-social-policy-framework.pdf\">Environmental and Social Policy Framework<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Report:\u00a0<\/strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/archive-canada\/en\/documents-and-links\/publications\/In-the-Pipeline-Risks-for-Funders-of-Tar-Sands-Pipelines\/\">In the Pipeline: Risks for funders of tar sands pipelines<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jesse Firempong, Communications Officer, Greenpeace Canada, 778-996-6549,\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:jesse.firempong@greenpeace.org\">jesse.firempong@greenpeace.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>30 October 2017 (TORONTO) \u2014\u00a0A new report by Greenpeace and Oil Change International warns of major banks\u2019 exposure to financial and reputational damage due to their financing of tar sands&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32],"p4-page-type":[16],"class_list":["post-3496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate","tag-oil","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3496"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3498,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3496\/revisions\/3498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3496"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=3496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}