A PROTEST by Greenpeace activists forced the closure yesterday of the Barclays bank branch in Belfast's Castle Place.
It was part of a UK wide shutdown of nearly 100 branches, from Portsmouth to Dundee, in protest against what it claims it the bank’s continued multi-billion dollar support for fossil fuels.
Greenpeace is demanding that Barclays, the biggest funder of fossil fuels among European banks, stop propping up oil, gas and coal companies and channel funding into renewable energy.
Protestors arrived shortly after 8am and manoeuvred a pop-up exhibition in front of the bank's main entrance, blocking access for customers. They left in late afternoon.
The exhibitions displayed photographs of some of the worst climate emergency disasters in the four years since the Paris Climate agreement was signed.
A number of Greenpeace activists manned the stand during the day, speaking to perplexed customers as they arrived only to be turned away.
A police vehicle parked close to where Greenpeace had set up, but the protest was peaceful.
Morten Thaysen, climate finance campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: "Barclays must stop funding the climate emergency, which is why we’ve taken this action today.
"From floods to bush fires and record heat in Antarctica, the impacts of this crisis are staring us in the face. Yet Barclays keeps pumping billions into fossil fuel companies at exactly the time we need to stop backing these polluting businesses.
"Banks are just as responsible for the climate emergency as the fossil fuel companies they fund, yet they’ve escaped scrutiny for years.
"We’ve shut down branches across the country to shine a spotlight on Barclays’ role in bankrolling this emergency. It’s time it pulled the plug and backed away from funding fossil fuels for good."
