It is with heavy hearts that so much of this newsletter is about our response to the war in Ukraine. For many years we worked with activists in Ukraine, whom we are in touch with now. They are safe and fighting hard. We are grateful to have contributed about 8,000 EUR to efforts to support safety for activists. Below you can read some of what our team has written about how this war connects to our work.

In the spirit of these times, we also wanted to share some resources for care and resilience – we recently hosted some wonderful teachers on this topic and we wanted to share some of their offerings with you. For care and resilience strategies focused on somatic/physical stretch, we recommend checking out these YouTube channels: Soisci Human Patterns, mariana hilgert, and Joseph Bartz. For those focused on song, we recommend checking out spiritual healer and activist Reverend Rhetta Morgan’s website, and for information about ecoanxiety and mental-health focused care and resilience strategies, we recommend checking out climate psychology educator Leslie Davenport’s website.

Finally – there is always good news, you just have to know where to look. This month we look to our colleagues in Japan, who celebrated some wonderful victories in their campaigns to get the three largest Japanese banks out of the fossil fuel lending business.

Onwards,

May

P.S. Reminder that we have a new mailing address: 350.org, PO Box 843004, Boston, MA 02284-3004. If you have any questions, or want to reach out, you can always email donations@350.org!

Putin’s War on Ukraine Highlights the Dangers of Fossil Fuel Dependency

Photo: 350

To build lasting peace, and to confront the reality of the climate crisis in time, we need international cooperation on a scale never before seen, not war. We decry the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Our teams are paying close attention and analyzing events everyday, with a specific lens toward the interconnections of the fossil fuel industry and wars.

Fossil fuels create conflict and the pathway to peace is through renewables – we need to stop funding Putin’s war. We also know that Big Oil continues to be a villain in this story, and oil companies around the world are making record profits on increased prices. Ukrainian activists are leading the global demand to end our fossil fuel addiction feeding Putin’s war machine.

The latest UN IPCC Report paints a bleak picture, but it also offers a way forward:

Photo: 350 Pilipinas

On February 28th, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a seminal report presenting the most comprehensive scientific overview to date of the climate impacts that communities around the world are suffering, due to the ongoing exploitation of fossil fuels.

This IPCC report proves the cause of the problem: fossil fuels did this. But there is also good news! We know precisely how to reclaim our futures from the fossil fuel industry: by pushing financial institutions to cut off funding, and closing the doors for Big Oil. Now is the time to support community-led solutions that are sprouting up all over the world. Check out the work our Pacific Climate Warriors are already doing to build community resilience in the face of these impacts with PV solar power systems!

350 Japan’s Finance Campaigning Celebrates Big Victories!

Photo: 350 Japan

Did you know that 350 pursues vigorous finance campaigns in Asia? Many of the largest financiers of fossil fuel projects are Asian-based banks, including Japan’s top three “megabanks.” Our team is celebrating a big win as Sumitomo Corporation announced that it would pull out of the Matabari 2 coal-fired plant in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh canceled 10 coal plant projects in 2021. We need them to go further – cancel all and enact a Green New Deal for Bangladesh.

350 Japan continued their finance campaigning with their Moshi-Moshi action – successfully encouraging 124 activists from all over the country to call all three megabanks and demand climate action! Through this action, these activists recognized that they can do it and make a difference in Japanese society.

Navigating fossil money is a maze, here is your guide:

Photo: 350

When 350 started our divestment campaign back in 2012 via our Do The Math tour, it was a relatively unknown strategy to address climate change. Today, nearly $40 trillion in managed assets have been divested by more than 1,500 institutions across the globe. We need to go much further to divert the money funding fossil fuels into a renewable energy-powered Just Transition. This is the first in a series of articles demystifying this urgent need in our new Fossil Money.