Fossil Fuel Free Pride Pledge Sign Fossil Fuel Free Pride Pledge as an organisation / organiser
We all deserve to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and eat healthy food, but fossil fuel corporations are destroying our air, water, and food by pumping toxic fumes and chemicals into the world.
These companies don’t care about us — all they care about is lining their own pockets while regular people suffer the consequences. The world is getting hotter, wreaking havoc on our communities, and it’s affecting all of us.
LGBTQIA+ people are disproportionately affected by climate change. [1] Queer people are more likely to experience poverty, discrimination and violence, which can make it harder for them to access the resources they need and to adapt to the changing environment.
That’s why we’ve launched the Irish Fossil Free Pride pledge. Fossil fuel corporations, and the companies that invest in them, regularly use Pride as an opportunity to “pinkwash” their image. By paying Pride committees large sums of money, they can march in Pride and present themselves as LGBTQIA+ friendly — when the reality is that these same companies are destroying the world we inhabit.
We want our Prides to have nothing to do with fossil fuel corporations and the companies that fund them, so we’re asking Pride organisations across Ireland to sign our pledge and commit to not taking money from fossil fuel companies or their funders. If enough Prides take the pledge, and promise not to take dirty money, we can rob these corporations of what they want most: the opportunity to “pinkwash” their image and win support from LGBTQIA+ people.
We are calling on Pride organisations across Ireland to sign the following pledge.
In recognition of the climate emergency we are in, we pledge:
- To adopt a publicly available ethical sponsorship policy
- Not to accept sponsorship from or partnership with fossil fuel companies
- Not accept sponsorship from or partnership with financial institutions funding fossil fuel companies
Here is the list of Prides that have signed the pledge so far:
Roscommon Pride
Quare Clare
Wexford Pride
Stand together for fossil free Ireland Sign Fossil Fuel Free Pride Pledge here
Further details for Pride organisations and organisers, who wish to sign the pledge
By signing this pledge, you are committing to excluding fossil fuel corporations and financiers from any sponsorship or partnership agreements.
As a minimum requirement, any ethical sponsorship and partnership policy must cover all fossil fuel corporations in the Carbon Underground 200 and the banks that feature in the latest Banking on Climate Chaos report, which details the 60 largest financiers of fossil fuels. The full list of the 60 largest financiers of fossil fuels can be found here. Some of these banks have operations in Ireland, such as Citibank, which is one of the largest financiers of fossil fuel production in the world.
Because of complicated ownership structures and the tendency for large banks to buy out smaller institutions, it is also worth noting that other brands that may approach you for sponsorship are owned by fossil fuel financiers, and should therefore be considered part of the parent company and qualify for exclusion.
Here, sponsorship and partnership refers to any sponsorship agreements or official partnerships with fossil fuel corporations or financiers. This is a minimum requirement of the Fossil Free Pride pledge. If the Pride event has a march or parade where groups can register to take part, we encourage you to also commit to not allowing fossil fuel corporations or financiers to register for these events.
If the Pride commits to the minimum criteria of the Fossil Free Pride pledge, your name will be added to the list of Prides on the Fossil Free Pride website.
This pledge commits those who sign it to develop an ethical sponsorship policy that enforces the above commitments. Fossil Free Pride is willing to work with Prides who sign this pledge to draft a policy document.
NOTES
[1] The disproportionate impact of climate crisis on the LGBTQIA2S+ community | Greenpeace
