A rather colourful group of activists gathered outside Standard Bank in Rosebank on Wednesday under the banner of 350Africa.org to stand in solidarity with impacted communities worldwide who are leading a divestment campaign.
According to the protesters, over 90 global financial institutions have signed up to the Equator Principles, but are still financing destructive projects. These banks are currently meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil as the Equator Principles Association.
The protests aim to draw attention to the failure of the Equator Principles to align with the Paris Agreement and uphold internationally-recognized indigenous rights to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) in the case of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Line 3, Keystone XL, Trans Mountain, and other fossil fuel projects around the world.
“Standard Bank, as chair and signatory of the Equator Principles, should step into their leadership role and ensure that banks are not financing climate disaster and are respecting vulnerable peoples’ rights and territories. We have already seen them show this leadership with their decision not to fund the Lamu coal-fired power plant in Kenya, the Equator Principles meeting is an opportunity to commit to this course of action and influence other banks,” said Ahmed Mokgopo, a campaigner with 350Africa.
During the global 3-day protest known as #DivestTheGlobe which is organised by Mazaska Talks, there were actions in at least 44 cities in the United States and Canada on Monday. Yesterday and today, there have been actions in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Many of the world’s largest environmental organizations have also lined up in support of the days of action, with environmental leaders adding their voices to a letter that threatens the banks with the pressure of a boycott until they cease funding tar sands projects. Something which Europe’s second-largest bank promised to do last week.
