Leonardo DiCaprio, Scarlett Johansson and more stars sign open letter calling on RBC to stop funding the controversial Canadian pipeline

Celebrities come after the effort to stop the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

This week, Leonardo DiCaprio, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and many other stars signed an open letter calling on the Royal Bank of Canada to refinance funding for the pipeline.

READ MORE: Jane Fonda Votes Support for Protestant Pipeline Replacement in Minnesota

Organized by Indigenous Climate Action, the petition is part of an ongoing effort to stop the pipeline, which is planned to cut through Wet’suwet territory in northwestern British Columbia, but did not have the consent of local hereditary chiefs. chalk. .

Mark Ruffalo, Taika Waititi, Jane Fonda, and Robert Downey Jr., Ava DuVernay, Josh Gad, Mariska Hargitay, Rooney Mara, Julianne Moore, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Schumer, Ben Stiller, Marisa Tomei also signed the petition.

Protests against the pipeline in Canada have included rallies in Canadian cities, as well as rail blockades around the country.

READ: David Suzuki apologizes for ‘poorly chosen’ words over ‘inflated’ pipelines

Read the full text of the letter, originally published by The Hollywood Reporter:

We, the undersigned, demand that the parent company of the City National Bank, Royal Bank of Canada:

Support the Coastal GasLink pipeline withdrawal, effective immediately.

Preserve, affirm and respect the rights of indigenous peoples. It is critical that CNB and RBC not only “respect” the rights of indigenous peoples, but adhere to policies and practices that guarantee the Free, Advance and Informed Consent (FPIC) of indigenous peoples, as enshrined in the UN Declaration of Rights defined by the United Nations. Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) under Article 32.

Stop funding for fossil fuel expansion. CNB and RBC must stop funding extreme fossil fuel expansion projects, specifically fracking and tar sands. Alberta’s Ter Sands exacerbates climate crisis and why Canada is unable to meet its international climate commitments, as agreed at COP 26.

The parent company of the City National Bank Royal Bank of Canada bankrolls the climate crisis and violates the rights of indigenous peoples.

Although RBC claims to be a leader in climate-conscious banking since acquiring CNB in ​​2015, RBC has spent more than $ 160 billion to become one of the world’s largest and most aggressive financiers of tar sands, fossil fuel extraction, and transportation. ginn. RBC is now the fifth largest financier of fossil fuels in the world. BankingOnClimateChaos.org.

Although they publicly claim “to respect the inherent right of indigenous peoples to self-determination”, RBC is heavily invested in the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline, which now bulldozes through the pristine territory and waters of the Wetwets Peoples, without the Consent of the heirs.

The time to define Coastal GasLink is now. RBC must now withdraw from the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline and stop funding fossil fuels.