Banking industry leaders clashed with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., on Wednesday after Tlaib demanded a commitment to immediately end all financing of all fossil fuel products. JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon told the far-left spokesman that her request would lead to despair and disaster. “You all have committed, as you all know, to move emissions from lending and investment activities to align with net-zero pathways in 2050… So no new fossil fuel production, starting today, so it’s going to be like zero. I’d like to ask all of you and go down the list, because again, you all agreed to do this. Answer with a simple yes or no, does your bank have a policy against financing new oil and gas products, Mr. Diamond?” Tlaib asked. “Absolutely not, and that would be the road to hell for America,” Dimon replied. JP MORGAN CHASE CEO JAMIE DIMON CLASHES DEM GUARD OVER RUSSIAN INVESTMENTS The CEOs of the biggest U.S. consumer banks are set to warn lawmakers that Americans are struggling amid soaring inflation as they brace for tough questions about how to help customers hit by rising prices. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images) “Yeah. Nice. Nice,” Tlieb replied. “Sir, you know what, everyone who got student loan relief [that] has a bank account with your bank he should probably remove his account and close his account.” He continued, “The fact that you’re not even there to help relieve a lot of the people who are in debt, extreme debt because of student loan debt, and you criticize it.” Tlaib asked the other bankers for their position, to which they all responded that they would continue to invest in oil and gas in addition to alternative energy projects. ENERGY CEO hits out at ‘ENERGY IGNORANCE’ DRIVES CURRENT POLICY: ‘LITTLE HOPE FOR END OF CRISIS ANY SOON Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, DC, Wednesday, September 21, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images) “We will continue to invest in and support clients investing in fossil fuels and helping them transition to cleaner energy,” said Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup. Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, echoed Fraser. “We’re helping our clients make a transition, and that means lending to both oil and gas companies and new energy companies and helping to monitor their path to the standards that you’re talking about,” he said. House Oversight and Reform Committee member Rashida Tlieb (D-MI) attends a hearing on the 2020 Census in the Rayburn House office building on Capitol Hill January 09, 2020 in Washington, DC. ((Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS Critics of Tlaib’s environmental policies argue that those policies have already reduced funding for fossil fuel projects, which has exacerbated energy shortages seen in Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year. American financier Kyle Bass, for example, argued that the transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy should not be rushed. “These transitions take forty years, Joe. The transition from coal to natural gas took forty years. It takes a long, long, long time. We can’t just flip a switch,” he told CNBC in an interview last month.
