Amazonia is one of the last places in the world where oil drilling should be happening, especially since the International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that there can be no new fossil fuel projects if the world is to stay within the 1.5°C limit on global warming. In the case of Amazonia, studies suggest that oil expansion is also a major enabler for further deforestation – where oil companies open roads, agribusiness follows. And with deforestation reaching already 26% of its territory, the ecosystem is reaching the tipping point. Public and private policy has to respond to this reality accordingly.
The Exit Amazon Oil and Gas campaign, coordinated by Stand.earth and in collaboration with the Pan-Amazonian Indigenous Organization, COICA, is calling on banks to stop financing – directly and indirectly – oil and gas in Amazonia.
We are seeking the support/endorsement of your organization for this platform in order to show banks and financial institutions that there is widespread global opposition to oil drilling and further expansion plans in Amazonia and to build pressure for exclusion policies from more banks.