CLIMATE campaigners staged a ‘die-in’ at the town centre’s Barclays bank yesterday (Saturday, October 9).

Extinction Rebellion demonstrators could be seen on Broad Street lying under white sheets pretending to be dead while others held up a banner reading: ‘invest in life not death’.

Reading Chronicle:

Posters put up near the protest site showed the Barclays logo above an image of a lizard surrounded by fire with a caption that read: “Banking on our future extinction.”

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The group protested to demand an end to ‘fossil fuel financing’ and targeted Barclays because of the bank’s investment in the resource.

Reading Chronicle:

A report from the Financial Times in November 2020 revealed Barclays lent nearly £25 billion to large fossil fuel companies in the first nine months of last year.

Dani from Extinction Rebellion said: “The finance world is complicit in the destruction of the planet by funding the fossil fuel industry.

“Without finance, the fossil fuel industry cannot thrive. Barclays, despite all their climate change announcements, are still the largest European funder of fossil fuels, including for new and expanding facilities.

Reading Chronicle:

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“Barclays claims that fossil fuel investments are still needed in the name of ‘progress’. Why? Because Barclays cares more about its profits than the planet.”

Other Extinction Rebellion protestors across the country have targeted other big banks, including HSBC.

Reading Chronicle:

HSBC owns stakes in coal companies that together plan 73 new coal plants, according to Market Forces.

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Helen from Extinction Rebellion said “HSBC funds clean investments in developed countries, while forcing people in poorer countries to breathe particle-laden smog.”