In a sweeping demonstration today, climate activists from Extinction Rebellion and its affiliated group, Money Rebellion, targeted Barclays (LON:BARC) Bank, gluing doors shut at approximately 50 branches across the country. The protests, which took place in cities including Glasgow, Leeds, Lincoln, and London, aimed to hold Barclays accountable for its significant investments in fossil fuels.
The activists chose Barclays due to its status as Europe's top financier of fossil fuels, with investments reported at $190.58 billion since the Paris Agreement. Their actions echo similar protests by Greenpeace in 2020, underscoring a continued push for financial institutions to adopt more environmentally responsible practices. The protesters sealed doors at key locations, such as Tottenham Court Road station in London, Kilmarnock Road in Glasgow, and Albion Street in Leeds, causing disruptions which they argue pale in comparison to the catastrophic events driven by climate change.
The groups have called for Barclays to commit to ending its fossil fuel investments by the time of its next annual climate strategy update in 2024. As part of their campaign, they highlighted the growing public demand for urgent climate action and encouraged customers affected by today's protests to switch to more sustainable banks. They suggested using platforms like switchit.green as a resource for finding ethical banking alternatives.
While the activists apologized for the inconvenience caused by the protests, they emphasized that such minor disruptions are necessary to confront the larger issue of climate change, which they describe as a core rationale for their demonstration against major contributors to climate breakdown.
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