The fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline is nothing short of inspiring. But Royal Bank is bankrolling this fossil fuel time bomb to the tune of $340 million in loans.

What's happening at Standing Rock is about protecting our water and the climate. Pipeline guards are assaulting the native Sioux Tribe and their allies with attack dogs and pepper spray and local police are trying to jail journalists. But for the big banks who fund major polluters, it’s just business as usual.

Thousands have peacefully gathered to stop a 570,000 barrel-per-day pipeline that would endanger the ancestral lands of the Standing Rock Sioux. Investing in such major fossil fuel infrastructure would continue to lock us into a climate-busting carbon economy for decades -- but that’s exactly what Royal Bank is trying to do.

Demand that Royal Bank of Canada divest from the Dakota Access Pipeline now.

Three Canadian banks are among the more than two dozen financial institutions identified as backers of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline and its associated companies, with the Royal Bank of Canada being one of the largest financiers. RBC has committed substantial resources -- nearly $350 million -- to the Energy Transfer Family of companies which includes Sunoco Logistics so it can build out more oil and gas infrastructure. 

The DAPL was supposed to route near the city of Bismarck -- but was rejected because of its proximity to municipal water sources. But for some reason, it was given a green light to put the Standing Rock Sioux’s ancestral water supply at risk.

While the courageous resistance at Standing Rock has captured international attention, it’s also an astonishing example of how much power the banks have when it comes to our changing climate. $3.75 of the $3.8 billion it costs to build the pipeline is on credit. And without that capital, quite simply, there is no pipeline.

Stop the money, stop a pipeline. It’s that simple. Tell Royal Bank to divest now.

What we are bearing witness to at Standing Rock is a moment of history. Thousands are literally putting their bodies on the line to keep our world, our water, our soil and our air safe. We can’t all stand up in solidarity in North Dakota, but we can make their jobs a whole lot easier, and be part of creating change from here.

We could feel that power when tens of thousands of SumOfUs members raised their voice and stopped the Keystone XL pipeline cold. And again as the SumOfUs to oppose Kinder Morgan. Let's come together again and make sure Royal Bank is on the right side of history.

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