Greenpeace activists shut down Barclays bank branches across the borough early this week in a protest against fossil fuel investments.
Barclays in Butterfly Walk, Rye Lane and Lordship Lane were all rendered out of action on Monday (March 2) after protestors disabled the doors to stop staff from entering. Across the country, nearly a hundred Barclays were targeted, with slogans including ‘Stop Funding Fossil Fuels’ and ‘Stop Funding the Climate Emergency’ plastered over the shopfronts.
Barclays is one of the biggest funders of fossil fuels in Europe’s banking industry, investing $85 billion between 2016-2018.
“Barclays must stop funding the climate emergency, that’s why we’ve taken action in London and across the country today,” said Morten Thaysen, a climate finance campaigner at Greenpeace.
“From floods across the UK, to bushfires across the globe 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.”
Barclays did not respond to a request for comment before the News went to press.