Costco is being urged to cut ties with Citi, the bank that acts as its credit card issuer.

We knew about dirty banking, and now this story from Bill McKibben’s newsletter got us reading about change activism in Progressive Grocer:

Costco Becomes Target of Climate Action Petition

Wholesaler’s credit card issuer Citi is said to have a poor climate record

Costco Wholesale CEO Ron Vachris will receive a petition signed by 40,000 of its shoppers, shareholders and many climate activists on Jan. 17 urging the retailer to drop Citi as its credit card issuer due to the bank’s problematic climate record. The petition is being delivered to Costco’s Issaquah, Wash., headquarters ahead of its annual meeting of shareholders on Jan. 18.

A data analysis completed by TopoFinance found that Costco’s carbon footprint from its cash deposits, which allow banks to use its money to fund oil, gas and coal, is equivalent to 85.3% of Costco’s total operational carbon emission. Additionally, the wholesaler’s carbon cash footprint is equivalent to 10.1 gas-fired power plants operating for one year.

The Sunrise Project, a global network of organizations focused on driving the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, reports that Citi is the second largest fossil fuels funder in the world and is a major backer of oil, gas and coal companies across the Amazon and Africa. The bank has provided $332 billion worth of funding for oil, gas and coal since 2016.

According to The Sunrise Project, the push to pressure Costco to cut ties with Citi is supported by 12 U.S. organizations including Third Act, Stop the Money Pipeline, Hip Hop Caucus and Stand.Earth. Costco management has reportedly refused to meet with the groups, and stated in an email that the retailer “plans to honor” its contract with Citi.

“Communities are coming together to fight climate change because it is already destroying their homes, livelihoods and their lives,” said Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., president and CEO of Hip Hop Caucus. “Costco’s highly-engaged customer base is not only impacted but has a core demographic that is known to care about climate change. Costco can do the right thing and support these communities by saying no to a bank like Citi, which is a major funder of oil, gas and coal, and which forces these industries on regions where there are predominantly people of color.” …

Read the whole article here.