Tell Citi: Don’t Invest in Environmental Racism

Photo of child holding a sign saying "Stop Formosa" to protest Citi potential financing of a $12 billion petrochemical plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

In October 2023, Indigenous and frontline leaders met with staff of Citibank, the world's second largest funder of fossil fuel projects, to demand that the bank stop financing fossil fuel projects that exacerbate environmental racism and worsen climate change. Frontline leaders shared lived experiences, firsthand impacts, and calls for solutions directly with Citi staff. Despite this, Citi never responded to these requests.

Now, Citi could be asked to finance the ‘Sunshine Project,’ a $12 billion petrochemical plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana. The 2400-acre complex would manufacture the building blocks of single-use plastics and other materials, increasing local pollution by 800 tons annually and greenhouse gas emissions by 13.6 million tons annually. Additionally, the construction of the plant would destroy the burial grounds of enslaved ancestors of some of the current population of St. James Parish.

While Citi claims to screen projects that raise environmental justice concerns, fossil fuel projects disproportionately affect Black and Indigenous communities. These projects lie at the heart of racial injustice in the United States by generating toxic air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that drive the global climate crisis.

Furthermore, Formosa Plastics has been named a ‘serial offender’ for its disregard of the environment and human lives around the world. If Citi is serious about supporting the transition to a responsible and sustainable low-carbon economy, it will stop investing in all fossil fuel projects, including petrochemical plants like Formosa Plastics’ ‘Sunshine Project’. This clear demand from frontline leaders echoes the urgency felt by many communities striving for environmental justice and sustainability.

Add your name to demand Citi denounce, divest, and defund Formosa Plastics’ toxic and racist ‘Sunshine Project’ in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

To: Citi CEO Jane Fraser Click to see full petition text

Dear Jane Fraser,

Citibank is the second largest funder of major plastics companies — pouring $145 billion into fossil-fuel derived plastics from 2015 to 2020. Petrochemicals and other such fossil fuels lie at the heart of environmental racial injustice in the United States by generating toxic air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that drive the global climate crisis. Moreover, in past years, Citi has also been one of the largest U.S. financiers of Formosa Plastics Corporation and its subsidiary companies.

The undersigned, many of whom bank with Citi, are writing to demand you end any and all business relationships you may have with one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies, Formosa Plastics Corporation, and its affiliates that are trying to build the Sunshine Project in St. James, Louisiana.

St. James Parish is a predominantly low-wealth and Black area of Louisiana that has been dubbed “Cancer Alley” due to the impacts more than 200 industrial plants along an 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi River have on residents. The $12 billion “Sunshine Project” is a petrochemical complex that would increase local pollution by 800 tons annually, increase greenhouse gas emissions by 13.6 million tons annually, and destroy the burial grounds of enslaved ancestors of some of the current population of St. James Parish.

Formosa Plastics has been named a ‘serial offender’ for its disregard of the environment and human lives around the world. If Citi is serious about its commitment to environmental justice and reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, Citi cannot invest in any new reckless fossil fuel projects like those proposed by Formosa Plastics’ ‘Sunshine Project’.

Specifically, we ask that you:
* Publicly denounce environmental racism and the Sunshine Project.
* Publicly commit to not directly or indirectly finance the Sunshine project or related projects.
* Cease all underwriting and asset management activities for Formosa Plastics equities and debt.
* Sell and refrain from buying equities and debt issued by Formosa Plastics Corporation (TPE 1301) and Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (TPE 6505), Formosa Plastics Group, and other related Formosa affiliates.
* Invest in community-led, environmentally responsible alternatives in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

Thank you for your time.

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