Barclays is one of many banks contributing to climate breakdown, by being one of the biggest fossil fuel funders within Europe.
The climate crisis is present around the world. Air quality worsens, animals are at risk of extinction and according to Earth.org, the effects of global warming could be irreversible by 2030.
Extinction rebellion activist, Kerri Waters, 36, says:
“I had no idea how involved our financial system is with causing environmental destruction. Barclays are the worst bank in Europe when it comes to fossil fuel funding.”
Since the Paris agreement, they have spent $118 billion on artic gas and oil. Waters says: “ The financial system is the root cause of the climate crisis.”
Waters urges a systemic shift in the whole financial institution and states ”swapping banks isn’t enough.”
“We need to put pressure on the government so that these banks are working for us not against us.”
Fossil fuels are fuels formed from plants and dead organism over millions of years ago, these fuels are often burned to produce energy.
There are different types of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and petroleum. These fuels aren’t environmentally clean and contribute to climate change.
Ms Waters hopes that with the action of Extinction Rebellion they “can show people there’s a way of standing up to these banks and another type of economy is possible.”
She says we need to look at “why they’re invested in Cargill, which is a major offender in deforestation in the Amazon.”
“When are Barclays going to repair the harm that they’ve caused?”
Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement, aiming to achieve climate engagement through non-violent protests, meetings and talks. To find out more about the movement, visit Extinction Rebellion UK.
To listen to the full interview, tune into our podcast later today on BUzz Bournemouth! #ClimateAction
Could you help the UN’s climate change conference?