SMBC Global Week of Action

With SMBC’s Annual General Meeting fast approaching, individuals and climate justice groups around the globe will take action this week (May 30th to June 3rd), demanding SMBC to stop banking on climate change and strengthen its climate policies.

SMBC Group has poured over $109 billion into dirty oil, gas and coal projects between 2016 and 2021. One of the most egregious projects is the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), with which SMBC has been actively involved as a financial advisor for French energy giant TotalEnergies and as a project loan arranger. 

At SMBC’s Annual General Meeting, shareholders of SMBC will vote on shareholder proposals filed by NGOs that seek to strengthen the bank’s climate change measures, as the bank’s current 2050 net-zero target alone cannot achieve the Paris Agreement 1.5°C target. We need to show SMBC and its investors that the world is watching them, and that they need to follow through on their climate commitments.

Please help us put pressure on SMBC from May 30th to June 3rd through the following actions:

• Take a photo and share

Print out a banner from the Global Action Toolkit (or feel free to make your own too!), visit your local SMBC branch, take photos, and share on social media. There will be groups convening in at least 10 countries (see list below).  

• Tweet and share

Use the tweets and image options in the Global Action Toolkit to send messages (like the ones below) directly to SMBC and help spread the word!

o   Among Japan's 3 megabanks, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is the worst in funding LNG and Arctic oil and gas development. Stop supporting fossil fuels, the cause of the climate crisis, and make a fair transition to renewable energy! @smbc_midosuke #StopBankingOnClimateChange

o   Dear Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement cannot be achieved by simply declaring carbon neutrality in 2050. We need specific short- and medium-term targets and implementation of how and when you will phase out your support for the fossil fuel industry. @smbc_midosuke #StopBankingOnClimateChange

• Sign a petition

o  Endorse this petition calling on the 3 Japanese megabanks to end their fossil finance. You can sign on as an individual or as an organization.

o  Click on this link to call on banks to stop financing the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline.