A BANK has been targeted by eco-protesters for its investments in fossil fuels.
Extinction Rebellion took to the steps of Barclays Bank in North Street, Brighton this morning to hold “crisis talks”.
Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement that uses non-violent action to push governments into action.
The group planted in front of the entrance to the bank and even ventured inside at one point.
Protesters invited the public to come to their pink painted crisis table on the sidewalk outside the bank to talk about how they can respond to the climate crisis. Others hold a banner on the steps of the bank saying “Stop funding fossil fuels”.
Protester Nicola Harries, a retired Brighton lawyer, 66, invited the official to come to the crisis talks table to discuss how the message can be conveyed from the branch level to those who have the power to make investment decisions.
Ms Harries said: “We regularly protest outside Barclays Bank to draw attention to the bank’s appalling track record in investing in fossil fuels.
“We encourage the public to consider transferring their custom to another bank that supports the goal of protecting our planet.
“We would love to be able to stop these regular protests, but we cannot do so until we see that Barclays has taken urgent and immediate steps to change its investment policy.
“We owe it to all of our children and grandchildren to secure their future and save this planet and all living creatures from the very real threat of extinction.”
Bank manager Mr Richard Pink eventually agreed to speak with Ms Harries and said he would forward the letter to his superiors.
A group of six meditators also held a silent vigil outside the bank at 11 a.m.
One of the meditators, Ruth Urbanowicz, a 70-year-old chiropractor from Brighton, said: ‘I am angry that Barclays is using customer money to invest in fossil fuel projects (£ 145bn over over the past five years) knowing full well that it is fueling the climate crisis.
“As a result, today’s children will inherit an impoverished and destabilized planet. I can no longer step back and ignore this.”
The group said attention had recently turned to the role financial institutions play in climate change.
David Attenborough said in his recent documentary “David Attenborough – A Life on Our Planet”: “It’s crazy that our banks and our pensions are investing in fossil fuels – when these
are the very things that jeopardize the future for which we are saving.
The action came as Extinction Rebellion comes to the end of its two-week protests in London, where they called on the government to “Stop the Harm” by immediately halting all new investments in fossil fuels.
It also coincides with new protests across the country today against banks investing heavily in fossil fuels.
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-09-03 17:34:32
