Extinction Rebellion break windows at new Barclays offices, Glasgow

Extinction Rebellion Scotland activists have broken the windows at Barclays new offices in Glasgow to demand an end to its funding of fossil fuel crisis.

At 8am, 2 activists carefully broke the windows at the Barclays branch in their new offices at Clyde Place Quay. The activists wore safety goggles and Kevlar gloves, and took great care to ensure the safety of bank staff, fellow activists and passersby. They then held banners stating ‘This is an Intervention’ and ‘Stop Funding Rosebank’.

The protest is part of Extinction Rebellion and Money Rebellion’s UK-wide Better without Barclays campaign [1] of disruption. The campaign is happening nationwide across hundreds of branches across the UK.

Barclays is the biggest funder of fossil fuels in Europe and the 7th biggest funder of fossil fuels worldwide.[2] Barclays are also funding the proposed Rosebank Oil Field by providing stakeholders Equinor with $2.46 billion of backing since 2015. Rosebank contains over 500 million barrels of oil, which if burned would produce the equivalent CO2 emissions of 28 low-income countries combined. [3]

Today’s action in Glasgow follows in the footsteps of suffragettes [4], and the Ploughshares movement [5]: using nonviolent direct action and causing damage to property to prevent and draw attention to greater damage.

Later today, XR Scotland will continue its protest at Barclays at 13:00 hrs. The protest will feature speakers from Biofuelwatch, Fuel Poverty Action, Fridays for Future, Tipping Point and Bank Track. [6]

Myke Hall of Extinction Rebellion Scotland said:

“Barclays are putting up the money to develop Rosebank. They want to extract and burn millions of barrels of oil to get even richer. It’s disgustingly greedy and it’s violence against all life. We will not tolerate it”

Alex Cochrane of Extinction Rebellion Scotland said:“Barclays are the biggest funders of fossil fuel in Europe.. Their greed is exploiting and creating a future of famine, displaced people and global suffering. We all know we need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. We all know the climate crisis is already hitting us yet Barclays still refuses to do the right thing for us. For all our sakes, they must stop using our money to fund fossil fuels.”

About Barclays

Barclays is the 7th biggest funder of fossil fuels worldwide and Europe’s biggest: it has given US$ 166.741 billion to companies active across the fossil fuel life cycle in the period from 2016-2021, after the Paris Agreement was signed that demands urgent and drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that arise from burning fossil fuels.

Source: Banking on Climate Chaos: Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2022

Barclays is funding forest destruction, biodiversity loss, environmental injustice and climate-wrecking emissions through its investments in Drax which is the UK’s single largest carbon emitter and the biggest wood-burning power station in the entire world.

Source: Biofuelwatch [7]

Barclays are also funding the proposed Rosebank Oil Field by providing stakeholders Equinor with $2.46 billion of backing since 2015. Rosebank contains over 500 million barrels of oil, which if burned would produce the equivalent CO2 emissions of 28 low-income countries combined.

Source: World Bank: CO2 emissions – equivalent CO2 emissions of 28 low-income countries combined.

References

[1] Better Without Barclays: https://xrmidlands.uk/better-without-barclays/

[2] Banking on Climate Chaos: Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2022: https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org/

[3] World Bank CO2 emissions: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.KT

[4] Damaging property as an act of nonviolence? https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hj9YY2C1EFDEptM1JyTcRDBO3s1DBuQ4nhE9J91fNnM/edit

[5] The Ploughshares Movement: http://tridentploughshares.org/the-ploughshares-movement/

[6] Media advisory: Extinction Rebellion Scotland to protest for end to fossil fuel funding by Barclays: https://mailchi.mp/c95db82e3ea7/media-advisory-extinction-rebellion-scotland-to-protest-for-end-to-fossil-fuel-funding-by-barclay?e=[UNIQID]

[7] Defund Climate Chaos and tell Barclays to Drop Drax: https://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/2022/defund-climate-chaos-and-tell-barclays-to-drop-drax/