Extinction Rebellion protest targets Barclays banks in Northampton over 'despicable' fossil fuel investments

Extinction Rebellion (XR) Northampton is once again protesting against Barclays bank and its 'despicable' fossil fuel investments.

The non-violent climate activist group took to the streets of Northampton on Saturday (February 5) and slapped warning posters on Barclays' branches in the Drapery and Wellingborough Road.

This protest is part of a UK-wide campaign called 'Better without Barclays', which other XR groups are taking part in.

The group wrote on its Facebook page: "You might notice that your Northampton town centre branches of Barclays have had a spruce up, courtesy of XR Northampton.

"Why, you ask? We’ve joined groups across the UK in a month of action to expose the destruction that Barclays cause through their financial investments.

"Barclays is the biggest fossil fuel funders in Europe. Its investments into fossil fuels have increased year-on-year and are now twice as high as they were pre-pandemic.

"Fossil fuels are the leading cause of climate change - the largest threat to existence humanity has ever faced. If we continue to allow these investments, our children will die."

Speaking to Chronicle & Echo, the group said it will continue to 'take action until fossil fuels are left in the ground'.

An XR spokesman said: "This campaign is about telling the truth.

"Most people are totally unaware that their money is being used in multi-billion-pound loans to companies that are not only responsible for creating the climate crisis, but are also responsible for the huge energy price hikes we are hearing about in the news.

"The best thing those who have accounts with Barclays can do is to switch to an ethical bank - it’s much easier than you might think.

"XR demands an end to all new fossil fuel exploration. We demand an end to fossil fuel investments using everyday people’s money through sneaky banking and misuse of our taxes. We demand an end to sweetheart deals between the government and the world’s worst polluters such as Shell, Exxon and BP.

"We will continue to take action against these companies until fossil fuels are left in the ground and a shift to clean, renewable energy is treated as the vital step to save humanity from extinction that it is."

A Barclays spokesman responded saying the company will become a net zero bank by 2050.

The bank spokesman said: “We are aligning our entire financing portfolio to support the goals of the Paris Agreement - significantly scaling up green financing, directly investing in new green technologies and helping clients in key sectors change their business models to reduce their climate change impact.

"By 2025, we will reduce the emissions intensity of our power portfolio by 30 percent, and reduce absolute emissions of our energy portfolio by 15 percent.

"Increasing at pace, Barclays has already facilitated £46bn of green finance. We are one of the only banks globally investing our own capital – £175m – into innovative, green start-ups. By deploying finance in this way, we are accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy and will become a net zero bank by 2050.”

In February 2020, a group representing XR Northampton were arrested year after staging a protest inside the bank's Brackmills headquarters to demonstrate against the firm's fossil fuel investments.

David Lane, 55, and Luke Adams, 25, were found guilty of causing criminal damage to the Barclays logo in the main foyer of the building after they sprayed a black watery liquid - which represented oil and was not harmful - at the sign for about 15 seconds.