A GROUP of protestors held protest outside of a number of major banks in Reading last week, citing concerns over funding of pollution.
On Saturday, October 10, members of the protest group Extinction Rebellion took part in protests outside branches of Santander, HSBC, Lloyds, and Natwest banks in the town centre.
It comes as the group accuses the banks of funding projects which rely on and propegate fossil fuel use amid continued rises in oil and gas emissions.
They omitted Barclays, as the branch was undergoing refurbishment, but have protested the bank alongside others in the past, having previously described it as “one of the worst offenders” in Europe.
The group cites services such as Bank Green and Ethical Consumer, who examine a number of factors to judge whether individual banks support and finance fossil fuel projects.
They also cite figures from Bank Track, which say that globally, banks have finance fossil fuel projects to the cost of over $8.7 trillion in the last ten years, including $906 billion in 2025 alone.
Extinction Rebellion protests come amid a backdrop of continued climate change and rise in global temperatures and weather extremes.
The group argues that banking customers should seek to choose banks which do not exacerbate fossil fuel use in response to unprecedented heatwaves over the summer, droughts, and significant impacts on UK food harvests.
More information about Extinction Rebellion is available via: extinctionrebellion.uk
