Extinction Rebellion staged a protest outside the Barclays bank on Worcester High Street.
Protestors dressed up as bank executives wearing ‘oil heads’ as dancing cleaners told Barclays to clean up their act.
The group also held up placards which read ‘Stop funding fossil fuels for our children’s future’ in the protest on Saturday.
Research scientist Siani Morris, from Malvern, said: “We’re here to show how Barclays are investing billions of pounds in fossil fuels while pretending they are a green bank.
“Most people don’t realise that their money is being used to fund the big oil companies which are making record profits while drastically increasing energy prices to consumers.
“We’re inviting Barclays customers to show their dissatisfaction by switching to a more ethical bank, which is really easy to do.”
Ms Morris explained the ‘oil heads’ had (non-harmful) oil pouring out of their mouths to symbolise the destruction brought by fossil fuel investment.
She said: “In 2021 Barclays funnelled more money into fossil fuel extraction than any other bank in Europe. industry.”
Barclays refused to comment on the protest however a spokesman explained its position on climate change.
They 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 per cent, and reduce absolute emissions of our energy portfolio by 15 per cent.
“Increasing at pace, Barclays has already facilitated £62bn 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.”
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