The Amazon rainforest—the world’s most diverse ecological system—is burning. And it’s not an accident. More than 76,000 fires have been recorded in Brazil this year, and most are caused by deliberate agricultural activity.
That’s right: Brazilian agribusiness is setting the Amazon on fire to clear land for business. And get this—American investors are helping it happen.
BlackRock is a major shareholder of JBS, a Brazilian meatpacking company notorious for buying cattle raised on illegally deforested Amazon land. And BlackRock shows no signs it will stop bankrolling the destruction.
But with the world watching, we have the chance to expose BlackRock for bankrolling the Amazon fires. Will you help us tell BlackRock to take action to save the rainforest before it’s too late?
Call on BlackRock stop financing the destruction of the Amazon.
BlackRock has already earned its reputation as the best friend the fossil fuel industry could ask for. It’s funneled unrivaled billions into dirty energy and is the world’s largest investor in new coal plants.
But BlackRock’s investment in Amazon destruction is truly beyond the pale. When right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro was elected on promises to strip regulations protecting the Amazon, BlackRock didn’t see an environmental crisis—it saw a business opportunity. BlackRock upped its shares in JBS by over $40 million in just two years since Bolsonaro announced his campaign.
The good news is we’ve taken on BlackRock before—and won. Just last year, BlackRock divested from an Eritrean mining company using forced conscripted labor under pressure from our SumOfUs community and local partners. Now, we need to come together to call on BlackRock to divest from Amazon deforestation—before there’s nothing left to save.
Tell BlackRock to stop bankrolling the attack on the Amazon.
More information
How Larry Fink, Joe Biden’s Wall Street Ally, Profits From Amazon Cattle Ranching, a Force Behind Deforestation
The Intercept. 30 August 2019.
The Intercept. 30 August 2019.
Amazon Fires: Follow the Money
The Atlantic. 4 September 2019.
The Atlantic. 4 September 2019.