BELFAST, Maine — Across the nation, climate action advocacy groups are protesting U.S. banks to urge them to stop financing fossil fuel portfolios and instead divert investments to renewable energy.
In the state of Maine, a local climate advocacy group affiliated with the national climate action organization, Third Act, staged a rally outside Bank of America just off Route 3 in Belfast.
According to the 2022 report "Banking on Climate Change Chaos," 60 of the world’s largest banks have invested close to 3.8 trillion dollars into fossil fuel project portfolios since the Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015.
Advocacy groups say that so-called "vague net-zero goals" adopted by the banks are not enough to stop the climate crisis.
Bank of America is among other U.S. banks including JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo listed at the top of the "dirty dozen" commercial and investment banks in the report.
Local Third Act organizer Ridgely Fuller expressed that the banks are not doing enough.
"All they are doing is mouthing the words 'yes we are going green,' and we call that green-washing because they won't give us a plan," Fuller said. "Instead [they're] investing trillions of dollars since the Paris Climate Accords in continuing fossil fuel projects that will extend into [the] 2060s. That's way beyond the 2050 year we need to transition to."
Fuller added she believes a transition to a "green economy" is necessary for a livable planet.
NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to Bank of America regarding the climate advocacy rally and the company's environmental goals, but they declined to comment.
Instead, the company referred to its sustainability page for more information regarding environmental commitments.
Bank of America has a call center and a number of branches in Maine.