Barclays banks glued shut by Extinction Rebellion climate activists

A number of Barclays banks have been "glued shut" by climate activists today (November 27), including branches in Guildford and Farnham in Surrey.

Extinction Rebellion says this is to protest against Barclays' continuing investment in oil and gas projects.

Greenpeace took similar action in 2020.

A Money Rebellion activist who took part in the action said: "Barclays are pumping billions into the fossil fuel industry, completely at odds with advice from the International Energy Agency, United Nations and IPCC.

"Barclays are choosing short term profits over a liveable future and a lot of us are sick of the measly progress they’re making, as they hide behind their lies and greenwash."

An XR activist added: "We’re responding to public attitudes and targeting the perpetrators of climate breakdown, not ordinary people and we apologise for any inconvenience caused to staff and customers. The inconvenience we’ve caused this morning is small in comparison to the catastrophic events already happening due to Barclays’ financing of fossil fuels."

A Barclays spokesperson said: "Aligned to our ambition to be a net zero bank by 2050, we believe we can make the greatest difference by working with our clients as they transition to a low-carbon business model, reducing their carbon-intensive activity whilst scaling low-carbon technologies, infrastructure and capacity.

"We have set 2030 targets to reduce the emissions we finance in five high emitting sectors, including the Energy sector, where we have achieved a 32% reduction since 2020.

"In addition, to scale the needed technologies and infrastructure, we have provided £99bn of green finance since 2018, and have a target to facilitate $1trn in Sustainable and Transition financing between 2023 and 2030."