WATCH climate protesters splash Bank of England with black dye, blasting its alleged role in ‘climate crisis’

The Bank of England has been targeted by climate activists, who claim it failed to regulate the funding of the fossil-fuels industry, which is contributing to the current “ecological crisis”.

Demonstrators aligned with the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion gathered in front of the imposing neo-classical building in the City on Thursday morning, holding aloft banners reading, “This bank is killing us,” and “No more fossil fuels.” Activists also sprayed the bank in London’s financial district with black ink from canisters labelled “fossil fools”.  

Protesters claim the central bank has failed to regulate lending to companies involved in the fossil-fuels industry. “The action today is part of a wave of actions by XR’s Money Rebellion, designed to expose the role of banks in the climate and ecological crisis. The world’s 60 largest banks have funded the fossil-fuel industry to the tune of $3.8 trillion since 2016,” they said in a statement. 

Extinction Rebellion also cited a report by not-for-profit advocacy group Positive Money, which claimed that, as of June 2020, 56% of Covid funding distributed by the Bank of England went to carbon-intensive industries, including “airlines, car manufacturers, and oil and gas companies.”  

Reports suggest that two people were arrested by police for their role in the disturbance. 

Extinction Rebellion has recently launched a renewed campaign against the finance industry. Earlier this week, the group’s co-founder, Dr Gail Bradbrook, was recorded using a hammer and chisel to disable a bank’s ATM. The caption on the footage read, “Broken windows, not broken futures”.

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