<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><center style="font-family: Helvetica-Light; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" align="center" id="backgroundTable" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; height: 100% !important; width: 100% !important; line-height: 100% !important;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td align="center" valign="top" style="border-collapse: collapse;" class=""><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" style="border: 0px; border-collapse: collapse;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td align="center" valign="top" style="border-collapse: collapse;" class=""><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="border-collapse: collapse !important;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" class=""><div id="container" style="min-width: 300px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 640px; padding: 0px 38.796875px; box-sizing: border-box;" class=""><div style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); max-width: 100%; padding: 1em; margin: 0px auto;" class=""><div style="margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.2em;" class="">Big banks signed the Equator Principles promising to lower their climate impacts. But they’re still financing dirty tar sands oil pipelines and coal-fired power plants that would devastate the climate. <br class=""><br class=""><strong class=""><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/HwE/ni0YAA/t.2bn/r5cf0m0JQJ2sX5OIvNFDjA/h0/5VsrcCLxr-2FW1Wxb0-2BJX-2BNjHcApn2YznfSJL7X2c9vEpNyVEVkNZQDA4B3rUFLXxVakm-2Bd5-2BDCN0Xp-2BY3fxVbyNMx6HjdFGGtDCipNtIW2ZQz-2BDGPw28sfzqfSTAKLWfW3oa1SuccBXzCvt5E190JG-2BoELaySq6F-2FvhprQNOep9VHmy61g7SIW05-2BPuBvmDn-2B4H6K01kH6ApsTVi9tX0iBEUNtOOky6zN129qgu6gFgcZuMZR1pEPr7h-2Fp8T8ToJjp-2Bb2N8eBYftWpWkZCvvq9yUtuqNIgafdUnCtuou3gvZDOQV3S3av-2F9yEHYDjhjdB-2B-2B7IMD01KJidNJiGtLB9BYFRR-2ByHMEPR-2B1sAhOUuuwm-2BGX-2BAeAXbpKVgAJBReC2QZhtmzD9gbLMBruhu-2BB9K3hBoUG19pi5Repz7ojGvc84-3D" style="color: blue;" class="">Tell big banks: Stop financing climate destruction >></a></strong></div></div><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class="">Dear ______</p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class="">Next week, more than 90 of the world's largest banks will meet in Brazil to recommit to the Equator Principles, a set of rules guiding which big infrastructure projects they will and won't finance.</p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class="">"Equator banks" have promised to avoid or minimize the social, environmental, and climate impacts of such projects, and to respect the rights and interests of Indigenous communities affected by them. </p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><strong class="">But those same banks are still funding dirty tar sands oil pipelines and climate-wrecking coal-fired power plants across the globe</strong> – even over strong opposition from Indigenous populations.</p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/HwE/ni0YAA/t.2bn/r5cf0m0JQJ2sX5OIvNFDjA/h1/5VsrcCLxr-2FW1Wxb0-2BJX-2BNjHcApn2YznfSJL7X2c9vEpNyVEVkNZQDA4B3rUFLXxVakm-2Bd5-2BDCN0Xp-2BY3fxVbyNMx6HjdFGGtDCipNtIW2ZQz-2BDGPw28sfzqfSTAKLWfW3oa1SuccBXzCvt5E190JG-2BoELaySq6F-2FvhprQNOep9VHmy61g7SIW05-2BPuBvmDn-2BR4gm3P4unju91b0hwDo2MDvfc5ld8zJty4AJBCTCntNCkj0hFGqvl0TBngVyaec4nJaOeuQLLgQDiWg4-2FmrTuo7M0KI6BNnOUyMjqhhOwY4pS5kz4XbE14qbWQtv-2Bjamz0iNxzRWktZwGJYkrQue-2FeF9yzb-2B5Bnu7Rh1wxoSqcCy18lHxbXNtMyYGTsVAnyif4QBdysRjUw6UC1o7tmwadb2wQEP0X-2FOM9m-2BJEzfun4-3D" style="color: blue;" class=""><strong class="">Sign the petition: Big banks must stop funding climate devastation and start respecting Indigenous peoples’ rights.</strong></a><strong class=""></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><strong class="">You might not know it, but big pipelines and other fossil fuel projects are funded almost entirely by big banks like Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America. </strong>Banks you might even use for your own checking accounts or credit cards. <br class=""></p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class="">They’d rather you <em class="">didn’t</em> know that they’re financing climate disaster projects like Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipeline. That’s why, years ago, many of them signed onto the Equator Principles, a promise between the biggest banks to NOT finance projects that threaten the climate and local communities. <br class=""><br class="">It sounds good, but they haven’t lived up to their promise. To give just a few examples:<br class=""></p><ul style="line-height: 19px;" class=""><li style="line-height: 19px;" class="">The Dakota Access Pipeline was financed by banks signed on to the Equator Principles even though it was built to pump dirty tar sands oil, and was fiercely opposed by the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Lakota Tribes for threatening their water sources.<sup style="font-size: 10px;" class="">1</sup></li><li style="line-height: 19px;" class="">The Honduran Agua Zarca hydro project, where Indigenous leader Berta Cáceres was murdered for leading Indigenous resistance to the project, also passed the ‘Equator test’ of FMO bank as a project supposedly respecting the rights of the Lenca communities.<sup style="font-size: 10px;" class="">2</sup></li></ul><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><strong class=""><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/HwE/ni0YAA/t.2bn/r5cf0m0JQJ2sX5OIvNFDjA/h2/5VsrcCLxr-2FW1Wxb0-2BJX-2BNjHcApn2YznfSJL7X2c9vEpNyVEVkNZQDA4B3rUFLXxVakm-2Bd5-2BDCN0Xp-2BY3fxVbyNMx6HjdFGGtDCipNtIW2ZQz-2BDGPw28sfzqfSTAKLWfW3oa1SuccBXzCvt5E190JG-2BoELaySq6F-2FvhprQNOep9VHmy61g7SIW05-2BPuBvmDn-2BxWH9AXWS3JT9P1X38ShFDTLF1BAxDpf0FytTDbeTFkX1Ko6XmmIoXFBHyQ0Kq1FcVtpKVNSMjfPlj3JT0RTO5mPco3fTab0ZwCyCblYfTrauY9EzxcUws53ponvBfZOwv9tKrF8YePnRK2jyDMdVgGyf2rto2kOoxZvxIaNBoM-2BoZTKzt1rglRckBchRiih2wyvCR8odwV3MREm-2BCI4N2utV0whkI9k9vFNNlt-2BFLVQ-3D" style="color: blue;" class="">We need a change. Sign here to tell the banks to stop funding climate devastation and start respecting Indigenous rights.</a></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><strong class="">The October 24 meeting in São Paulo, Brazil is a clear opportunity for Equator banks to revisit their Principles and commit to a higher standard of practice. </strong>Advocates will be on the ground in Brazil, and local activists around the world are planning related actions to increase the pressure.</p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class="">As part of a coalition of human rights, environmental and Indigenous-led organizations, we're demanding that Equator banks stop financing climate disasters and start respecting Indigenous peoples' rights and land. <strong class="">But we need you to join us.</strong></p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><strong class=""><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/HwE/ni0YAA/t.2bn/r5cf0m0JQJ2sX5OIvNFDjA/h3/5VsrcCLxr-2FW1Wxb0-2BJX-2BNjHcApn2YznfSJL7X2c9vEpNyVEVkNZQDA4B3rUFLXxVakm-2Bd5-2BDCN0Xp-2BY3fxVbyNMx6HjdFGGtDCipNtIW2ZQz-2BDGPw28sfzqfSTAKLWfW3oa1SuccBXzCvt5E190JG-2BoELaySq6F-2FvhprQNOep9VHmy61g7SIW05-2BPuBvmDn-2BxmFcVewlIwOdV3HqEFffv67Aqc7nLKV82rNSpcER21QIz3L71mqbejXoVNC1O-2FQ2ffSPyWZTGfe1Q9Oi2WtfJ9mjU4NonLncoTay9oCDeB6DkFtKoUERjUW-2B-2BFTY69fqgbCrNFI9FgF7YqctkX6PrRXp54bEoOyVviR-2BFg8mksuBdHSQ1tuYi1-2BAUu3LCEFN0rX4iNWecumVEppaZK3dqFoAlloCJmBE3HG6CXmZ-2Bog-3D" style="color: blue;" class="">Sign now: Show these banks that their customers see what they’re up to and demand they commit to higher standards of climate protection and respecting local communities.</a></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class="">Sincerely,</p><p style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class="">Kurt Walters<br class=""><a href="http://watchdog.net" class="">Watchdog.net</a></p><div style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div align="center" style="margin: 1em auto;" class=""><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/HwE/ni0YAA/t.2bn/r5cf0m0JQJ2sX5OIvNFDjA/h4/aHO21LnX1DH2iKGsTPn3bSMm6il-2BDLmn8RZdtoMQC399ogKS6uhl7gBgxSKEWuetu5t1ENOXtygejY7ygpqUbuRgO95DntGBW-2BDsxuvMwV78ae6-2B7ACb-2FN5uJngaL5Om6lQRTcySrTkmaeym4P4KsYGwylvR5lB5xIDOgR1QNfy0ON-2BuI2GyXKyk8hE2678l2iIQRfQGYbJWWNlnlu5Dd-2BVjBOafw2Ybc-2Bw5TkhsHKFVxxKib5cVzxGNnEC9Y1CShy5-2Ffe7xcVD-2FRMYanIHKGTQkwUCMmw5jWSJKRdZU3wDsKkDYG64B1evywHAcPCUJ7QqtSdnUs8TIzBvife0OFQ-3D-3D" style="background-color: rgb(174, 13, 24); border: 1px solid rgb(30, 54, 80); border-top-left-radius: 7px; border-top-right-radius: 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px; border-bottom-left-radius: 7px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline-block; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 40px; text-decoration: none; width: 200px;" class="">DONATE</a></div><div style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="foot" style="margin: 1em auto; padding: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Sources:<br class="">1. BankTrack, “Dodgy Deals,” <a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/HwE/ni0YAA/t.2bn/r5cf0m0JQJ2sX5OIvNFDjA/h5/XnLYlyEyt7nwhUXArNy3687s4ZfLghxj946aFGAw9rgYhoyDvYKgGN06fyBayWe5L-2B6am7kkWQAwhEUI1CEU3g-3D-3D" style="color: blue;" class="">Accessed Oct. 16, 2017.</a><br class="">2. Ibid.<br class=""></p><div style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div style="margin: 1em auto; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr class=""><td align="center" valign="top" style="border-collapse: collapse;" class=""><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-top-width: 2px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(144, 144, 144); border-collapse: collapse;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td valign="top" style="border-collapse: collapse;" class=""><table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td colspan="2" valign="middle" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px;" class=""><div style="color: rgb(112, 112, 112); font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 13.75px;" class="">Sent via <a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/HwE/ni0YAA/t.2bn/r5cf0m0JQJ2sX5OIvNFDjA/h6/55uI0ZjpoLA9-2FYhqE-2F4Eitwb7nFGaBM-2BttuyqSTdMS4-3D" class="">ActionNetwork.org</a>. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from <a href="http://watchdog.net" class="">Watchdog.net</a>, please <a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/HwE/ni0YAA/t.2bn/r5cf0m0JQJ2sX5OIvNFDjA/h7/WQ-2BlIwq7W2eCmkkcwbDiBfTpRTONPBIO8v6WfDIYEh-2BwSNXDjNkBmgjJHQLaKgmmb8xAq539eDy35az0425wNXRHCU5-2FUfrRjkYekCSf5M1TtSfoYIzldPRHUB-2FV1Rt173MJvRJaJGLHRP48a7CdNuUFoGtMrcw9dvA99ok4gmcSK-2B92jDmgcakLnQG7glkSNBWVIiGAQw0OTEegQ3jbQQ-3D-3D" style="color: rgb(0, 150, 219);" class="">click here</a>.</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br class=""></center><img src="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/o/HwE/ni0YAA/t.2bn/r5cf0m0JQJ2sX5OIvNFDjA/o.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" style="outline: none; font-family: Helvetica-Light; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; border-width: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" class=""></body></html>