Gendered and Racial Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Industry
in North America and Complicit Financial Institutions
The Gendered and Racial Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Industry in North America and Complicit Financial Institutions (fourth edition), is a report that addresses the disproportionate gender and race-specific health and safety impacts as well as human and Indigenous rights issues of fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure in the United States and selected parts of Canada— interlocking issues that have been sorely neglected in the discourse regarding fossil fuel extraction. The report spotlights the role that a specific set of financial institutions, including banks, asset managers, and insurance companies, play in preserving and perpetuating negative gender and racial impacts through focusing on nine case studies in North America.
WECAN is releasing the fourth edition of the report on September 12, 2024 ahead of Climate Week and the UN General Assembly in New York City. Download the report at the button below.
As part of the launch of the fourth edition, WECAN hosted a power dialogue to hear from frontline women leaders, health experts, and advocates who are demanding accountability from financial institutions to take action for the health of our communities. The speakers shared powerful testimonies and experiences of how exactly fossil fuels are impacting the health and safety of women and their families and communities, and the financial institutions who are complicit in these harms.
Find a recording the event on YouTube or on Facebook.
The Gendered and Racial Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Industry in North America and Complicit Financial Institutions (fourth edition) explicitly exposes the role that financial institutions, including banks, asset managers, and insurance companies, play in preserving and perpetuating negative gender and racial impacts through focusing on nine regional case studies. From the proposed LNG terminals in the Gulf South to the Willow Project in the Western Arctic, the report aims to bring attention to regions impacted by the fossil fuel industry and the financial institutions responsible for financing them.
The report spotlights Vanguard, BlackRock, Capital Group, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of America, and Liberty Mutual as primary financiers of harmful fossil fuel projects within the regional case studies. All of these financial institutions have voiced support for the Paris Climate Agreement and adherence to human rights standards via public statements or by signing various international frameworks. Yet, they continue to finance companies whose operations disproportionately harm women and communities of color while also violating Indigenous rights and furthering the climate crisis.
The report outlines risks for financial institutions and recommendations for internal policy changes. Financial institutions are exposed to various risks, including regulatory risks, stranded assets, physical and transition risks of the climate crisis, and reputational risks. The report details recommendations financial institutions need to adopt, including committing to phase out of existing fossil fuel financing and adherence to Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and human rights. To implement steps forward, the report also advocates for a Just Transition to a renewable and regenerative future that uplifts communities most impacted by environmental degradation, pollution, and the climate crisis.
In 2021, WECAN released the inaugural report. You can read the first edition report here. Read the second edition of the report, released in 2022 here. Read the third edition of the report here, released in 2023.
For further inquiries contact katherine@wecaninternational.org.
We are thankful for the following endorsements from the first edition of the report:
Alliance for Climate Education
BankTrack
Businesses for a Livable Climate
CADIRE Cameroom Association
Call to Action Colorado
Catholic Network US
Center for Common Ground
Clean Energy Action
Climate Crisis Policy
Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy
ClimateMama
Collectif Sénégalais des Africaines pour la Promotion de l'Education Relative à l'Environnement (COSAPERE)
Colorado Businesses for a Livable Climate
Extinction Rebellion Boston
Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area
Future Coalition
Global Choices
GreenFaith
Last Real Indians
Mazaska Talks
Movement Rights
NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program
Progressive Democrats of America
Rachel Carson Council
RapidShift Network
Rural Gender and Development Association (RUGADA)
Sebenza Enabling the Environment
Servicios Ecumenicos para Reconciliacion y Reconstruccion
Shipra
United People Project
UnKoch My Campus
Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights
Wall of Women
Wen (Women's Environmental Network)
Women's Environment and Development Organization
XR-Boston
350.org
350Hawaii
350Kishwaukee
