Rebels and Crusaders

By C O’Reilly

I was one of a group of XRI climate activists gathered at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay on Thursday 11th of July to protest at the annual 5k Docklands Race organised by Crusaders Athletic Club.

We were there to protest the sponsorship of this event by JP Morgan.  According to Forbes, JP Morgan Chase is the #1 fossil fuel financier in the world, committing $40.8 billion dollars to fossil fuel companies in 2023 alone.  This is despite warnings that an urgent phase- out of fossil fuels is required to avert global catastrophe.

Proceeds from the event are used to improve the club’s facilities and to promote sport, health and wellbeing in the community. One of the largest athletics clubs in Dublin, it serves Irishtown, Ringsend, Sandymount, and the Docklands area. Sadly, all these areas are at risk of falling below the annual flood level as early as 2030, according to Climate Central. Sea levels are rising due to global warming, to which fossil fuels are by far the largest contributor.

XRI reached out to the club last year with a letter about this sponsorship, but got no reply. However, during this protest one of our rebels learnt that Crusaders have a multi-year sponsorship contract with JP Morgan. It is shameful that this thriving, supportive and inclusive club is being used for heartless and cynical sportswashing.

We set ourselves up near the starting line with upwards of 1,700 runners gathered in front of us, along with stewards and supporters. The evening was dry, a little cool, with a light breeze - perfect for the runners. The Liffey flowed by, wide and majestic, through the mouth of the bay and onto the Irish sea. Our loud and colourful show with its iconic XR flags, rhythmic drumbeats and sinister Grim Reaper added a colourful carnival atmosphere to the occasion. The excitement and anticipation were palpable. We had no wish to spoil their fun, but we had an important message to deliver about their sponsors.

Via loudspeaker just before the race got going, our message was read out: we wanted them to enjoy their race; but we were there to ask them to stop taking sponsorship from JP Morgan because of their funding of fossil fuels.  Financing by big finance and insurance companies has enabled greenhouse gas emissions to rise for decades.

We reminded them that climate breakdown is already causing death and destruction in many places around the world and has been disproportionately affecting people in the global south, people who have contributed least to the problem.  We need drastic cuts in fossil fuels to save lives and protect future generations, not just elsewhere but here in Ireland too.   We had devastating floods in Middleton last year, and too much rain this spring prevented many Irish farmers from planting their crops.  

Our messaging was backed up by our banner and by information leaflets handed out to the crowd. Watching their reaction, I got the impression that many had given little thought to the business of their sponsors. This also proved to be the experience of our outreach team, who found that the participants they engaged with had been unaware of their sponsors’ investments in fossil fuels.  A JP Morgan employee who was watching the race also claimed ignorance of his company’s connection to fossil fuels.

None of this is surprising.  You’re unlikely to find any mention of fossil fuels on JP Morgan’s website. Investments are complex and what company these days wants to boast about supporting the fossil fuel industry?  There were further opportunities for raising awareness and spreading much-needed information after the race, when we stationed ourselves beyond the finish line outside JP Morgan bank. 

Anxiety and fear are natural responses when it seems that the dire warnings of scientists and trusted leaders are disregarded, when life reverts to “business as usual”.  It is such a relief to meet with others who care, who are willing to get out and protest, who are not afraid to speak truth to power. All in all, a worthwhile protest, both for its vital raising of awareness, and for the mutual support which participation in an XRI protest provides. And the drummers were great!

Photographs by Alessandro Summer

Standing with XRI

by C. O’Reilly

It’s a cold March morning as we gather on the north side of the graceful harp-like Beckett Bridge, which crosses the Liffey just up from its mouth.  We battle the breeze whipping upriver but soon we’re sorted, and we’re off!  

We are protesting against JP Morgan, a major sponsor of today’s National Payments Conference. JP Morgan Chase is the world’s no. 1 financier of fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement and JP Morgan’s asset management arm is one of the top investors in the 12 major oil and gas expansion companies.  The conference is to be opened by EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness.

We certainly look incongruous: men and women, young and old, the leggings and rain jackets, the iconic XR flags flapping in the breeze, marching along like a merry band of medieval knights and mummers among the suited grim-faced Monday morning workers.

We head east along the river grabbing the attention of passers-by. Gone are the old docklands, thanks to container shipping. In their place stands the oh-so-flashy Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC), a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), with its own trade laws.  It dominates the city from the Liffey mouth, a bastion of the Celtic Tiger, attracting foreign direct investment with its low corporate tax rate.  

The conference is being held in the Convention Centre, the landmark building of the district - ironically, said to be the first carbon-neutral conference centre in the world (with the help of Carbon Credits). It’s being run by the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI). Part of our message is to BPFI and other event hosts: Stop lending legitimacy to climate criminals like JP Morgan by taking sponsorship money from them.

We approach the building and there is a surge of excitement as some of our brave protesters dash onto the parapet that fronts the entrance in an attempt to gain access. But they are halted by Gardaí.  We are corralled back out onto the footpath where we line up – and the thirty or so of us, interspersed with banners carrying our message, make an impressive sight. Behind us, blocking the entrance, a row of Gardaí stand shoulder-to-shoulder, watching us. Reinforcements arrive, but there’s a peaceful vibe so they fade away.

Our drummers are impressive; you can feel the beat in the pit of your stomach as we cry out our protest chants.  There’s a megaphone.  A shaker adds depth and colour to the drum beats. In front of us is our pièce de résistance, a two-metre-high “Climate Reaper”, complete with scythe and dancing to the beat. Others dance in place to keep warm. I feel overcome with emotion; my fears and frustrations around the crisis well up in relief as I feel I’m not alone! 

We miss the arrival of Mairead Mc Guinness; she was probably smuggled in by the back entrance!  Other attendees are aware of us as they are directed away by the Gardaí.  We are watched by drivers heading up the quays and other passers-by.  Leaflets explaining our action are distributed.

We pack up, head to a nearby café to warm up and to discuss the day’s happenings, feeling satisfied that we have succeeded in putting on a good show and getting our message across.

JP Morgan “Climate Reaper” complete with scythe, covered in the logos of fossil fuel companies that JP Morgan has financed Photo by E Connolly

Monday, 4th March: Protesting JP Morgan’s funding of fossil fuels at entrance to Dublin Convention Centre where JP Morgan-sponsored BPFI conference underway Photo by A Deegan

Moving on after the protest Photo by K Handy

J.P. Morgan! There are no ‘Women in Tech’ on a dead planet

On the evening of 23rd March, I was among the XRI rebels who disrupted J.P. Morgan Dublin’s “Women in Technology” networking event to draw attention to the harm the company is doing by financing fossil fuel companies. It’s the worst of the big banks dubbed the “dirty dozen” in the 2022 Banking on Climate Chaos report. We also wanted to highlight the irony of their attempt to recruit women in particular, given the outsized harm that climate change does to women around the globe.

We seated ourselves dotted among the audience of about 70 people - a mix of potential recruits and employees. Just a few minutes into the opening remarks of one of four panellists on-stage, our first disrupter in the “audience” stood up declaring “There are no women in tech on a dead planet” and laying out a few of the facts about J.P. Morgan and their funding of climate chaos. She was immediately followed by another disrupter and so on until five of us had spoken  - each beginning with the same slogan and following that with our own variation on the theme. It  culminated with a call to action for those considering working for J.P. Morgan to reconsider and for those working there to demand that their employer divests from all fossil fuels. 

It was only when the fourth and fifth (final) speakers stood up that the organisers seemed to truly get a grip on what was happening before their eyes. One or two of them then went into containment mode - trying to get us to quiet down. Another was overheard calling the guards. When the last of us had stood up and spoken, we made our way with our Extinction Rebellion flags to just in front of the stage, chanting “J.P. Morgan pick a side, divest now, or ecocide”. 

At this point, the organisers called on the “audience” to relocate to a different room and they and the panellists started filing out. A few J.P. Morgan staff stayed behind with us. Staff member Emma Mangan, Head of CIB Merchant & Card European Head of Technology engaged with us. She suggested we fight for change by buying shares in the company and becoming shareholder activists. We responded by asking her to quit J.P. Morgan and put her expertise to good use by helping us fight their continued investment in fossil fuel companies. 

Panellist and Executive Director, Keith Staunton also stayed behind but did not engage, except to deny that he was the Executive Director when asked by one of the activists - after which she pointed out that it stated clearly on the projector slide that he was in fact! We activists exited the room and the building peacefully shortly thereafter. 

We went for drinks afterwards to celebrate the success of our action and to wind down together and share our individual experiences of the evening. One participant shared that some attendees seated in front of her were nervously giggling while the disruption was underway, until one of the disruptors spoke of the “sexual violence” that women suffer as one of the consequences of the displacement of people as climate refugees. Another participant had overheard two of the panellists as they filed out of the event room saying “They’re right, they have a point, we need to talk about this”.

For more background on the action, please see our Press Release and of course, please watch and share our video of this action!

Finally, if you’re reading this and you work in the financial sector, chances are the company you work for does invest in fossil fuels as, sadly, it appears to be the norm rather than the exception. So please do what you can to push them to divest if they haven’t already. Equally, if you know someone who works in the financial sector, please encourage them to do likewise. 

Angela Deegan

A rebel with Extinction Rebellion

Further Resources:

https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org/

https://divestmentdatabase.org/report-invest-divest-2021/ 

Three of the five XRI disruptors

Stealing the show from JP Morgan to demand they Divest Now from fossil fuels!