Episode #4. Is the AGM a new staging ground for climate activism?
We’re going behind the scenes of a new and fast growing niche for climate activism. What happens when an NGO takes on one of the world’s biggest banks through its own boardroom to ask the question: “Please stop lending to oil and coal companies?”Unlike classic environmental campaigns which rely on mass mobilization to exert pressure, shareholder activism is invisible to the public eye - everything happens behind the scenes. I talked to Wolfgang Kuhn of ShareAction, the London-based charity which coordinated a recent campaign at Barclays Bank. The story of that campaign reads like a play in five acts: filled with unexpected twists, conflict, struggle and, ultimately, resolution. What's remarkable is how a small, determined actor from civil society can lead a dance with a major global bank that ultimately changes the rules of the game as well as the bank’s policy on climate change. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thezeroist.substack.com