Demand JPMorgan Chase denounce, divest and defund Formosa Plastics’ toxic and racist petrochemical complex

Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The Formosa Plastics’ “Sunshine Project” – a proposed $12 billion, 2,400-acre petrochemical complex slated to be built in St. James Parish, Louisiana – would increase local pollution by 800 tons annually, increase greenhouse gas emissions by 13.6 million tons annually, and destroy the burial grounds of enslaved ancestors of some of the current population of St. James Parish. United Nations human rights experts have called for an end to further industrializing the predominantly low-wealth and Black area of Louisiana dubbed “Cancer Alley” for the effects of the over 200 industrial plants along an 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi, describing the situation as “environmental racism”.

Formosa Plastics cannot be trusted. Formosa Plastics has a track record of legal violations – from dumping mercury-laced waste in Cambodia to poisoning fish in Vietnam to releasing plastic pellets into the Texas Gulf – as well as deadly explosions.

Not only would the Formosa Plastics plant endanger the local community, plastic production spreads toxins throughout the environment and in our bodies wherever we live. 36% of plastics are produced for packaging, including for single-use items like water bottles, often ending up in the environment where they contaminate the food chain from tiny shrimps to massive whales. Harmful chemicals used as additives to create special properties in plastics are found throughout the human body – even in newborn babies. When plastics – made from fossil fuels – break down, they continue to release greenhouse gases, contributing to the climate crisis throughout their long existence. More plastic production is the last thing we need.

While JP Morgan Chase has committed to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Principles of Responsible Investing and pledged a $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment for the United States, they still hold shares in Formosa Plastics. We are demanding that JPMorgan Chase walk their own talk by immediately stopping doing business with Formosa Plastics and all related entities. Projects like this rely on financiers, and JPMorgan Chase has the opportunity to make more ethical and strategic investment decisions by supporting healthy communities rather than contributing to a legacy of harm wrought on communities of color in the United States and degrading our shared environment.

Sign now to demand JPMorgan Chase denounce, divest and defund Formosa Plastics’ toxic and racist petrochemical complex.

To: Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
From: [Your Name]

We write with concern about Formosa Plastics’ proposed Sunshine Project. This petrochemicals complex would be built in a predominantly Black district of St. James Parish, located in the industrial corridor of Louisiana that is referred to as “Cancer Alley”. The Sunshine Project could increase toxic air emissions by 800 tons yearly and increase greenhouse gas emissions by 13.6 million tons yearly, exacerbating pollution in an already overburdened community and further setting back climate goals.

If constructed, the project would also desecrate the graves of people who were enslaved on the sugar cane plantations that once operated on the site. United Nations human rights experts have called for an end to further industrializing “Cancer Alley”, describing the situation as “environmental racism”. In September, Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court vacated all 14 air permits for the project, citing Clean Air Act violations and an inadequate environmental justice analysis.

We understand that JPMorgan Chase does business with Formosa Plastics, currently holding shares in the company. We are concerned the company may again turn to your institution to raise financing for this multi-billion dollar project should it move ahead.

In light of JPMorgan Chase’s stated commitment to environmental responsibility and efforts to support racial equity, we call on you to end any and all business relationships you may have with Formosa Plastics Corporation and its affiliates, in particular Formosa Petrochemicals Corporation, Formosa Plastics Corporation, and FG LA LLC, which is building the Sunshine Project in St. James, Louisiana.

Specifically, we ask that you:
- Publicly denounce environmental racism and the Sunshine Project.
- Publicly commit to not directly or indirectly finance the Sunshine project or related projects.
- Cease all underwriting and asset management activities for Formosa Plastics equities and debt.
- Sell and refrain from buying equities and debt issued by Formosa Plastics Corporation (TPE 1301) and Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (TPE 6505), Formosa Plastics Group, and other related Formosa affiliates.
- Invest in community-led, environmentally responsible alternatives in St. James Parish, Louisiana, including ecotourism, residential development projects resilient to climate change, organic and eco-friendly farming, equity-focused tree planting initiatives as a means to increase property values, transportation that reconnects neighborhoods, and art and cultural heritage.

Thank you for your consideration.