Bank 'BNP Paribas' verklagt Klimaaktivisten

Über 150 Organisationen aus 56 Ländern - darunter auch ROBIN WOOD - solidarisieren sich mit dem Vorsitzendem von Friends of the Earth Frankreich, der wegen einer Protestaktion beim Pariser Klimagipfel von der Bank BNP Paribas vor Gericht gestellt wird.

Florent Compain, der Vorsitzende von Friends of the Earth Frankreichs Vorsitzender, wird von BNP Paribas, einer der schlechtesten Banken der Welt, für die Beteiligung an der öffentlichen Aneignung von Stühlen in einer der Filialen der Bank im November 2015 verklagt.
Die gewaltlose Aktion fand ein paar Wochen vor der 21. UN-Klimakonferenz (COP21) statt. Ziel war es nicht nur, Steuerhinterziehung bei BNP Paribas zu verurteilen, sondern auch auf die mangelhaften Finanzierungsmaßnahmen der Bank für Klima und einen sozial-ökologischen Wandel hinzuweisen.
Florents Prozess ist für den 11. April 2017 angesetzt. Es drohen ihm 5 Jahre Gefängnis und 75.000 € Geldbuße.Doch wo Unrecht zu Recht wird, wird Widerstand zur Pflicht!

 

Offener Brief:

We accuse!

Florent Compain, President of Friends of the Earth France, is being sued by BNP Paribas for taking part in a citizen requisition of chairs [1] in one of the bank’s branches in November 2015.

The nonviolent action took place a few weeks ahead of the 21st UN Climate Change Conference (COP21). The aim was not only to condemn BNP Paribas’s role in the tax evasion system, but also to raise the alarm over the lack of funding for the climate and the ecological and social transition, while 20,000 to 32,000 billion dollars are sheltered in tax havens.

Following the first prosecution of a “Faucheurs de Chaises” activist, BNP Paribas, one of the world’s leading banks and a COP21 sponsor, is now taking Florent Compain to court: his trial will take place on April 11, 2017 in Bar-le-Duc, France. Once again, a citizen and activist is being prosecuted, while BNP Paribas should be the one in the dock.

We accuse BNP Paribas of participating in the organization of tax evasion, for instance through the creation of offshore companies as revealed in the Panama Papers. With 2.4 billion euros in 2014, BNP is the French bank that generates the highest profit in tax havens.

We accuse BNP Paribas of exacerbating the climate crisis through its continuous financing to fossil fuels, nuclear and other false solutions incompatible with the social and ecological transition. While BNP Paribas has halted its direct support of new coal projects, its financing to companies involved in developing, extracting and consuming coal, which is harmful to both climate and health, continues! BNP is also looking for other fossil fuel projects to finance, such as the fracked gas  LNG export terminal Texas in the US, despite the French ban on shale gas.

We accuse BNP Paribas of disregarding the people’s rights to a healthy environment and to decide for themselves on their living conditions, through its funding of companies known for misconduct against those who protest their activities (Glencore, BHP Billiton, Anglo American, etc.) or projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline in the US, currently being fought by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Because the next 5 to 10 years will be crucial in stabilizing the climate, the money currently hidden in tax havens and used to finance the world’s most polluting companies should be urgently redirected towards an ecological and social transition to help us tackle the climate challenge.

Powerful multinational companies organizing the tax evasion system and the destruction of the environment and living conditions of people around the globe should be prosecuted – not “Faucheurs de Chaises” activists, whistleblowers and environmental activists. BNP Paribas is the one that belongs in the dock.

[1] « Requisitions of chairs » were non-violent actions led by the collective Faucheurs De Chaises in 2015
http://anv-cop21.org/196-civil-society-representatives-from-around-the-w...

 

List of signatories:

350 Vietnam (Vietnam), 350.org Australia (Australie), 350.org France (France), 350.org Germany (Allemagne), ACFM Niger (Niger), Action Non-Violente COP21 (France) , ActionAid International (International), ActionAid France-Peuples Solidaires (France), Agir pour l’Environnement (France), Alofa Tuvalu (France ), Alternatiba (France), Amigos da Terra Brasil (Brésil), Amigos de la Tierra (Espagne), Amigos de la Tierra Argentina (Argentine), Amigos de la Tierra Madrid (Espagne), Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) (Asie-Pacifique), Association CRI-AC + Collectif Isérois contre les huiles et gaz de Schiste et houille (France), Association Nigérienne des Scouts de l’Environnement (Niger), ATTAC France (France), ATTAC Japan (Japon), Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bangladesh), BankTrack (Pays-Bas), Bankwijzer -Scan des Banques (Belgique), BBL (Belgique), Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha (Inde), Biofuelwatch (Royaume-Uni/Etats-Unis), Bizi ! (Pays Basque), Bluff Ridge Conservancy (Afrique du Sud), Both ENDS (Pays-Bas) , BUND - Friends of the Earth Germany (Allemagne), BUNDjugend/Jeunes Amis de la Terre Allemagne (Allemagne), Campaign for Climate Justice (Népal), CEE Bankwatch Network (International), Censat Agua Viva (Colombie), Centar za životnu sredinu/Amis de la Terre Bosnie-Herzégovine (Bosnie-Herzégovine) , Center for Environment (Bosnie-Herzégovine), CHANGE (Vietnam) , Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe) Europe, Climaxi (Belgique), Coalition Against Nuclear Energy (Afrique du Sud), COECOCEIBA (Costa Rica), Collectif Causse Méjean - Gaz de Schiste NON ! (France), Colletif viganais contre les gaz et huiles de schiste (France), Confédération paysanne (France), Coordination gegen BAYER-Gefahren (Allemagne), Corporate Europe Observatory (Europe), Counter Balance (République Tchèque), CRID (France), Daraja Press (International), Earth in Brackets (International), Earthlife Africa Jhb (Afrique du Sud ), EarthLore (Afrique du Sud), Ecodefense (Russie), Ecologie sans frontières (France), Ecologistas en Acción (Espagne), ECOMUNIDADES (Mexique), Syndicat ELA (Pays Basque) , Engajamundo (Brésil) , Environmental Rights Action (Nigeria), ethecon Stiftung Ethik & Ökonomie (Allemagne), European Environmental Bureau (Europe), FairFin (Belgique), Finance & Trade Watch (Autriche), Focus Association for Sustainable Development (Slovénie), Fondation Danielle Mitterrand France Libertés (France), Food & Water Europe (Belgique/UE), Forschungs- und Dokumentationszentrum Chile-Lateinamerika e.V. (Allemagne), Foundation for Environment and Agriculture (Bulgarie), FRANCE AMERIQUE LATINE (France), France Nature Environnement (France), Friends of the Earth Australia (Australie), Friends of the Earth Canada (Canada), Friends of the Earth England Wales and Northern Ireland (Angleterre, Pays de Galles et Irlande du Nord) Friends of the Earth Finland(Finlande), Friends of the Earth Indonesia (Indonésie), Friends of the Earth International (Pays-Bas), Friends of the Earth Japan (Japon), Friends of the Earth Malta (Malte), Friends of the Earth Scotland (Ecosse), Friends of the Earth Uruguay (Uruguay), Friends of the Earth USA (Etats-Unis), Friends of the Earth Malaysia (Malaysie), Friends of the Earth-Ghana (Ghana), Friends of the Siberian Forests (Russie), Fundación Solón (Bolivie),Geg enStroemung - CounterCurrent (Allemagne), GLOBAL 2000 (Autriche), Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (Etats-Unis), Global Environmental Trust (Afrique du Sud), Global Forest Coalition International Green Development Advocates (GDA) ( Cameroun), Greenpeace France (France), Ibon international (Philippines), Independent community activist for human rights and social justice (Afrique du Sud), Indian Social Action Forum (Inde), INFOE - Institute for Ecology and Action Anthropology (Allemagne), Institute for Policy Studies - Climate Policy Program (Etats-Unis), JA !Justica Ambiental/FOEMozambique Mozambique, Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (Japon), Jordens Vänner/Friends of the Earth Sweden (Suède),Jubilee Australia (Australie), Korea Federation for Environmental Movement(KFEM/FoE Korea) (République de Corée), Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (République de Corée), LDC News Service (Royaume-Uni), Leave it in the Ground Initiative (Allemagne), Les Amis de la Terre Togo (Togo), Ligue des droits de l’Homme (France), Magyar Természetvédvők Szövetsége / Friends of the Earth Hungary (Hongrie), MAN-Mouvement pour une Alternative Non-violente (France), Market Forces (Australie), Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation (Afrique du Sud), Milieudefensie - Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Pays-Bas), Mom Loves Taiwan Association (Taïwan), Mouvement Ecologique asbl. (Luxembourg), Mouvement SOL (France), MTVSZ / Friends of the Earth Hungary (Hongrie), Nation Océan (France), National Toxics Network (Australie), NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark (Danemark), ODG - Observatori del Deute en la Globalització (Espagne), Oxfam France (France), PAX (Pays-Bas), Plateforme Paradis Fiscaux et Judiciaires (France), Platform (Royaume-Uni), PowerShift e.V. (Allemagne), Pro Natura / Friends of the Earth Switzerland (Suisse), Pro Public/ FOE,Nepal (Népal), PVDA (Belgique), Rainforest Action Network (Etats-Unis), Re:Common (Italie), REDES Amigos de la Tierra (Uruguay), ROBIN WOOD e.V. (Allemagne), Russian Social-Ecological Union (Russie), Réseau Action Climat-France (France), Résistance à l’agression publicitaire (France), Sierra Club (Etats-Unis), Solidaires Finances Publiques (France), South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (Afrique du Sud), Stop GDS 39 (France), Students for a Just and Stable Future (Etats-Unis), Surfrider Foundation Europe (France), Texas Drought Project (Etats-Unis), The Law and Policy of Sustainable Development Research Center (Vietnam), TierrActiva (Pérou), Urgewald (Allemagne), Village Emmaüs Lescar Pau (France), WALHI - Friends of the Earth Indonesia (Indonésie), We Women Lanka (Sri Lanka), WISE, World Information Service on Energy (Pays-Bas), WoMin African Alliance (Afrique du Sud), YUVA Association (Turquie), Zelena akcija/FoE Croatia (Croatie)