Today on Monday 24th June 350 Ōtepoti/Dunedin joined grassroots climate justice groups across Aotearoa in actions calling for Kiwibank to release its policy that rules out investing in or lending in companies whose core business is the extraction and/or production of coal, oil and gas. 350 Ōtepoti/Dunedin created a waiting room outside Moray Pl Kiwibank, with a sofa, chairs, coffee tables, and magazines with headlines calling for Kiwibank to take climate action.

Local activists stood together creating a theatrical “waiting room” expressing their frustration at having to wait for Kiwibank’s Fossil Free policy. All ages and backgrounds attended recognising the importance of a Fossil-Free Future and the role our money plays in funding that.

This event is one of many this week in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, and Dunedin were coordinated by 350 Aotearoa, as part of their Fossil Free Banks campaign, calling for banks to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry, the industry most responsible for climate change.

350 Aotearoa spokesperson, Erica Finnie, said, “New Zealanders need a bank we can trust to keep our money out of coal, oil and gas. Kiwibank claims to have a fossil free policy in the works, so we’re calling on them to pick up the pace, and show climate leadership by being the first bank in Aotearoa that guarantees it will never invest in or lend to fossil fuels.’

“Greenwashing tactics will no longer suffice, we need commitment & conviction with a statement of intention from Kiwibank in the form of a Fossil Free policy. We are in the wake of an Ecological & Climate crisis, the time to stall is over. We need definitive action now.”, said Jack Brazil spokesperson for 350 Ōtepoti/Dunedin

In November 2018, 350 Aotearoa released a report that exposed the relationship between the major banks operating in Aotearoa and the fossil fuel industry. Four Australian-owned banks that operate as subsidiaries in Aotearoa, ANZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac, collectively loaned over AUD$20 billion to fossil fuel projects from 2015-2017.

350 Aotearoa spokesperson, Erica Finnie, said, “In 2019 it’s appalling that New Zealanders don’t have a bank that takes a stand against supporting the fossil fuel industry. Across the country we are pushing for our banks to step up and respond to customers’ demand for a banking option that is committed to climate leadership.”

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