Statutorily, climate crimes do not yet exist. But, metaphorically, they obviously exist, and chief among them is the continued new production of fossil fuels — the chief cause of climate change. Big Oil is the criminal. Who, then, are the accessories and what makes them such?

An accessory before-the-fact of a crime is one who aids, abets or encourages another to commit a crime, but who is not present at the scene. Those who fund Big Oil’s production are accessories to a climate crime. Funders know, as do we all, 10 years after the Paris Climate Agreement, no new production lines are needed, and each one worsens the climate crisis.

Major accessories are international banks: Citibank, Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America, which continue to fund fossil fuel production. Secondary accessories, those who fund the big banks, or directly invest in petroleum stocks, also exist. Three organizations in Maine do just that: Costco and L.L.Bean, both of which co-sponsor their credit card with Citibank, and MainePERS, which, contrary to 2021 legislation, refuses to divest from fossil fuels.

Regardless of the platitudes they use, Costco’s “For us to thrive the world must thrive,” Bean’s “Out there is where we find our best selves,” or MainePERS’ “fiduciary duty,” they are knowingly funding the commission of a climate crime. They don’t have to do this and are repeatedly being asked to stop doing so. But until they do stop they are accessories to a climate crime.

Cletis Boyer
Belfast