Migrants from across the Big Apple rallied in Lower Manhattan Tuesday morning to raise awareness for climate change and the people it continues to displace.
Taking aim at Citigroup for allegedly being the world’s largest funder of fossil fuels, the group of migrants and their supporters rallied outside of the corporation’s headquarters on Aug. 13, located at 388 Greenwich St., where climate activists have waged war over the summer, ending in hundreds of arrests.
The crowd here said they were not looking to get cuffed but instead warn of the long, catastrophic shadow they charge Citigroup is casting across the globe.
“Climate change, which is caused by the oil industry and by banks like Citibank’s funding the oil industry, the sea levels are rising. More than 400,000 children in the Caribbean islands are displaced by hurricanes during 2017 alone. Eight million people were displaced by a 2022 flood in Pakistan,” said Winsome Pendergrass from New York Communities for Change. “It is kind of striking sometimes to see how these rich people pretend as if they are not doing anything.”
Attendees crafted a small altar on the pathway leading to the building’s entrance doors, adorning it with candles, flowers, stuffed animals, and photographs. This was intended to represent the lives lost due to climate change. Supporters also clung to flowers and banners lamenting the destruction of catastrophes caused by man’s environmental impact.
Bangladeshi native Fahmida Rahman recounted her own horrific encounter with flooding in her homeland before moving to the United States in 2015.
“There were several weeks of heavy rain that got so bad that our house looked like a floating island surrounded by water. I was scared of what would happen next. It was normal for us to expect that whenever there was heavy rain, we would have to evacuate the first floor,” Rahman said with the help of a translator. “I came to the United States in 2015 because I realized that I would not be able to keep my family safe in Bangladesh.”
Speakers also pointed out that New York itself is not immune from the effects of climate change, as Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and the remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021 proved with devastating flooding that led to dozens of deaths.
The group culminated the ceremony by leaving flowers on the makeshift altar and singing songs in memory of the lives lost.
According to sources inside Citigroup, the organization categorizes itself as a traditional lender when it comes to bank financing and not specifically an investor, but rather offers a line of credit or loan to companies without discrimination. However, it claims protesters sometimes misconstrue the amount of money the financial giant lends a company with the funding a borrower spends on fossil fuel investments.
Additional, sources shared that Citigroup disseminates a climate report which indicates that the firm is working towards reaching neutral carbon emissions by 2050.
“Citi has a long-standing record of fostering open dialogue and reaching constructive solutions with a range of stakeholders, and we are transparent about our climate-related activities. We are supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy through our net zero commitments and our $1 trillion sustainable finance goal. Our approach reflects the need to transition while also continuing to meet global energy needs,” a Citi spokesperson said in a statement.
