EXTINCTION REBELLION activists descended on Newton Abbot’s branch of Barclays to encourage public pressure on the bank to stop investing in fossil fuels.
Last Wednesday the group donned their aprons and pink feather dusters in the branch demanding that Barclays ‘Clean Up Their Act’.
This effort was part of a UK-wide campaign calling on banks to stop funding the climate crisis by ceasing to invest in fossil fuels.
Activists highlighted that Barclays had been the ‘number one’ European funder of fossil fuels in the last four years, according to a recent report by the Rainforest Action Network.
Local campaigner, marine and Ocean Rebellion activist Mike Puleston explained: ‘HSBC and Barclays in Newton Abbot have been regularly covered with Money Rebellion stickers and posters this year as part of a nationwide campaign.
‘These two banks in particular are continuing to finance an impending climate and biodiversity catastrophe by actively investing in global fracking, new oil and gas fields and shale oil production.
‘These banks need to be called out if we want to change to a greener future. He added: ‘Customer and shareholder pressure will be crucial in persuading boards and CEOs of these banks to divest from fossil fuel production.’
‘I’m terrified for my grandchildren,’ Kingsteignton grandmother Jane Baker told the activist group.
‘Because Barclays are investing family savings in new oil wells and coal mines which increase carbon emissions and heat the planet, my grandchildren will face food shortages leading to famines, a billion climate refugees, flooding from sea rise as well as the loss of much of our planet’s essential biodiversity.
‘A liveable future for all our children is so much more important than short-term profit. The banks and the Government have to stop putting money into fossil fuels and fund the alternatives. That will create good jobs so our grandkids can enjoy a better future.’
In response to the protest, a Barclays spokesperson said: ‘We are aligning our entire financing portfolio to support the goals of the Paris Agreement – significantly scaling up green financing, directly investing in new green technologies and helping clients in key sectors change their business models to reduce their climate change impact.
‘By 2025, we will reduce the emissions intensity of our power portfolio by 30%, and reduce absolute emissions of our energy portfolio by 15 percent. Increasing at pace, our capital markets business has already facilitated £46bn of green finance.
‘We are one of the only banks globally investing our own capital – £175m – into innovative, green start-ups.
The spokesman added: ‘By deploying finance in this way, we are accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy and will become a net zero bank by 2050.’