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To: Catherine O’Mullan - W5 Chairperson
W5: Drop Fossil Fuel Funder Citi's sponsorship
As the summer holidays approach, thousands of children and adults will visit W5, and 'In Our Nature' exhibition so they can “explore the diverse and beautiful landscapes of Northern Ireland with fresh water, rocky coastlines, and agricultural woodlands.”
But stunning landscapes near and far are under threat; the corporate sponsor of the ‘In Our Nature’ zone, Citi, is the second largest financial backer of fossil fuel projects in the world. [1]
Why is this important?
Citi, based right at the centre of the iconic Titanic Quarter in Belfast, is bankrolling the destruction of the Amazon, drilling in the Arctic. It’s even funding the company behind the proposed LNG plant in the Shannon estuary, importing filthy gas–much of it fracked–and locking us into fossil fuels for decades to come. [2]
Here in Northern Ireland they’ve been given tens of millions of pounds of public money by Invest NI to operate, meaning that the climate destruction they wreak is being made possible by our own money. [3]
For too long, fossil fuel CEOs have divided and distracted us with lies hoping to hide the origins and impact of the crisis they created, while they pollute our air, poison our water, and dump toxins into communities. [4]
We are acting together to make sure our children are still able to enjoy beautiful landscapes and healthy nature -such as those represented by W5’s ‘In our Nature’ exhibition, in real life, for generations to come.
According to your own sustainability pledge you are ’committed to reducing our environmental impact wherever possible. Placing sustainability at the heart of what we do, we pride ourselves on our forward-thinking approach.’ [5]
Taking sponsorship money from the second largest funder of fossil fuel companies world-wide makes a mockery of the sustainability pledge and allows Citibank to present an image as an environmentally conscious company while they pour billions of pounds into coal, oil, and gas.
It’s time to fight back on Citi’s greenwashing, and stop it funding climate chaos.
We, the undersigned, are calling on W5 to end its sponsorship arrangement with Citi until it stops funding fossil fuel companies.
[1] https://bank.green/banks/citi
[2] https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org/
[3] https://www.irishnews.com/business/2022/09/07/news/citi_to_create_another_400_jobs_for_fast-growing_belfast_operation-2819832/
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/30/climate-crimes-oil-and-gas-environment
[5] https://w5online.co.uk/sustainability-pledge
How it will be delivered
In real life.