Welcome to the March edition of the My Climate Plan Advocate!
Every month, we bring you some of the most effective, timely actions you can take to defend our communities and stop runaway climate change.
This edition has actions for My Climate Plan members in Canada and the US.
- For members in Canada: the focus this month is on the urgent debate around the 2024 federal budget.
- For members in the US: the focus is on a potential turning point in the campaigns to get banks to stop financing new fossil fuel projects.
Canadian Action: Money for affordable Canadian green homes in budget 2024
Right now the federal government is debating the 2024 budget, with key decisions being made every day in the lead up to its public release in March.
This is the key moment when elected decision-makers inside the government make their case for more money for important programs – and public support can make a big difference right now.
There is a big debate about what to do now that the Canada Greener Homes Grant has shut down because it was so popular that it ran out of money early.
The Canada Greener Homes Grant provided households with thousands of dollars to retrofit their homes with efficient and clean technologies, and supported good jobs across the country.
Efficiency Canada, the leading Canadian organization for an efficient economy, has teamed up with Leadnow.ca to collect over 6,500 signatures on a petition for an expanded Greener Homes program that includes targeted support for low-income people in this budget:
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Given the urgency of showing support while budget decisions are being made, we’ve also set up a click-to-call tool that you can use right now to contact your local Member of Parliament directly.
It will only take a moment, and could help win an expanded affordable home retrofit program this month:
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–US action: Getting your bank to switch from fossil fuels to clean energy
This month the Bank of America backtracked on its promise to stop financing coal.
Since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, the world’s 60 largest banks have poured US$ 5.5 trillion into the fossil fuel industry.
During that time, as customers are finding out that their money is being invested in global warming, they’ve been demanding their banks invest in a safe climate future instead.
And it’s been working, with giants like Bank of America, one of the biggest funders of fossil fuels, swearing off investing in fossil fuels.
Now, advocates like Lucie Pinson of Reclaim Finance are sounding the alarm about losing the ground gained to stop banks using our money to fund global warming.
Some lawmakers are threatening to punish financial institutions that are prioritizing sustainability-focused funds – and some banks are getting cold feet.
This is a key moment to show our banks that we want the shift to clean energy to speed up now.
We have the power to change our banking system into a force for a safer, more prosperous future.
Banks will be looking for the reaction to the Bank of America news, and calling on your bank to use your money for a climate safe future, or moving your money, is one of the most powerful things you can do right now.
BankGreen will tell you how your bank is doing in the race for a climate safe future, help you send a message to them, and if you choose to, move your money to a more sustainable institution.
