On Sunday, September 17, a reported 75,000 climate activists protested In New York City in the “March to End Fossil Fuels.” One day later, hundreds of agitators moved to blockade New York’s Federal Reserve Bank in an act that has been referred to as civil disobedience. The activists demanded that banks end non-renewable energy funding. Dozens of the protesters were arrested by local police.
The focus on non-renewable energy funding
The move was part of a broader trend by activists to compel financial institutions to deny energy companies the funding they need to operate. According to those alarmists, the use of energy sources like oil, coal, and natural gas must be stopped to avert a climate disaster.
Left unsaid is that 80% of the energy needed to power civilization relies on fuels like oil, gas, and coal. As recently as last year, so-called renewable energy sources provided only 21% of U.S. electricity generation. Critics of the climate activist agenda cite this as evidence that non-renewable energy will be needed for the foreseeable future.
Still, activists remain undeterred in their quest to disrupt the energy sector. One organizer for the group Climate Defenders summed their mission up by noting:
“Today we want to make sure people know banks, big banks, are responsible for climate change, too. And while marches are important, we think civil disobedience is, too, because it shows we’re willing to do whatever it takes to end fossil fuels, including putting ourselves on the line.”
A planned week of action – or chaos?
The current protests are a continuation of other protests that took place around the world last week. New York saw its share of those protests as well, with activists besieging Citibank and BlackRock headquarters. Those protests also demanded the end of those companies’ investments in non-renewable energy companies.
This week’s actions have not just focused on non-renewable energy funding, of course. Activists have also been pressing U.S. President Joe Biden to take action to affect a ban on those energy sources. Further protests are planned to take place throughout the week, including at Bank of America on Tuesday.
