Banks closed as green activists disable doors
Barclays branches in Bath and Keynsham were temporarily shut after Greenpeace activists targeted them as part of a protest.
The environmental pressure group said these branches, and nearly 100 others in the UK, were targeted in protest at the bank’s alleged support for fossil fuels.
Greenpeace said the Barclays in Southgate, Bath, and Keynsham High Street, were ‘rendered out of action’ on Monday by its activists who disabled the doors, preventing staff from entering. Both banks are open again. Morten Thaysen, climate finance campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said Barclays is ‘pumping billions into fossil fuel companies’ and must stop ‘funding the climate emergency.’
In response, the bank said it was ‘determined’ to do all it could to ‘transition to a low carbon economy’ while ‘ensuring that global energy needs continue to be met.’
Mr Thaysen said: “Barclays must stop funding the climate emergency, that’s why we’ve taken action today.
“From floods to bushfires and record heat in Antarctica, the impacts of this crisis are staring us in the face.
“Yet Barclays keeps pumping billions into fossil fuel companies at exactly the time we need to stop backing these polluting businesses.
“Banks are just as responsible for the climate emergency as the fossil fuel companies they fund, yet they’ve escaped scrutiny for years.
“We’ve shut down branches across the country to shine a spotlight on Barclays’ role in bankrolling this emergency.
“It’s time Barclays pulled the plug and backed away from funding fossil fuels for good.”
Barclays said it takes climate change very seriously.
A spokeswoman said:“we recognise that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today, and are determined to do all we can to support the transition to a low carbon economy, while also ensuring that global energy needs continue to be met.”
The bank said it facilitated £34.8bn in 2019 and £27.3bn in 2018 in social and environmental financing, including green bonds and renewable financing.