Indigenous leaders travel to UK from Peru to draw attention to oil damage

LONDON: Indigenous Wampis leaders from Peru urged UK lawmakers to ban banks from funding Amazon oil projects that harm their rainforest. HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, and Santander helped finance Petroperu’s refinery upgrade, which processes oil from a pipeline with 89 leaks in a decade. Wampis leaders highlighted severe pollution affecting fishing waters, with Petroperu spending USD 180 mn on spill clean-ups. The banks earned fees from a USD 1 bn bond deal despite warnings of Indigenous protests and environmental risks. Baroness Ritchie condemned the banks’ actions as “deplorable,” supporting calls for corporate accountability laws to protect human rights and the environment. Delegations from other countries shared similar concerns.