Community Corner
Climate Protest Planned In Worcester At First Chase Branch
350 Central Mass wants the international banking corporation to stop financing the fossil fuel industry.
WORCESTER, MA — The opening of the first Chase Bank branch in Worcester will come with a spotlight on the practices of the retail bank's parent company.
Worcester's first Chase will open Monday at 81 Gold Star Boulevard, and activists from 350 Central Mass plan to be there to spotlight investments in the fossil fuel industry made by JPMorgan Chase Bank — the owner of the retail bank chain.
The group says JPMorgan has invested an estimated $382 billion in fossil fuels like coal and oil since 2016, according to a 2022 report on the finance industry, making it No. 1 bank investor in fossil fuels by about $100 billion.
"The fossil fuel industry can’t pay for new coal, oil, and gas projects by itself. It relies on banks, led by JP Morgan, to lend it money," 350 Central Mass said in a news release. "When we support banks such as Chase, we directly support further fossil fuel development and delay the transition to renewable, non-fossil-fuel sources of energy."
RELATED: Activists Use New Tactics To Stop Coal Trains Leaving Worcester
Chase is a relatively new retail bank presence in Massachusetts. The first branch opened in Boston in 2018, but there are now 36 across the state. Chase is planning to open four more Worcester-area branches by 2025, plus the first Springfield branch next year. The first Worcester location is across from Chick-fil-A.
350 Central Mass is asking locals to boycott Chase and use local credit unions and banks instead.
The demonstration outside the bank at 81 Gold Star Boulevard will take place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
