22
Jul 2024
Extinction Rebellion protestors target Fountains Abbey
Members of Extinction Rebellion have called for the National Trust to stop banking with Barclays in a protest at Fountains Abbey.
Activists, who included trust members, took the World Heritage Site near Ripon to draw attention to the role of fossil fuel corporations in the climate emergency.
They claim Barclays is Europe’s biggest funder of fossil fuels and urged the heritage charity, which owns the abbey and surrounding water gardens, to stop banking with it.
The silent campaigners, known as the Red Rebels, conducted the activity ahead of a week of action by campaigners nationwide urging the trust to ditch Barclays.
Groups taking part in the campaign include Tipping Point, Christian Climate Action, Parents for Future and Money Rebellion, as well as Extinction Rebellion.
Campaigners carried signs saying ‘Love National Trust, Not Barclays’, and collected signatures for a petition calling on the trust to switch to a bank which does not fund fossil fuels.
Anna, who took part, said:
I‘ve always been a supporter of the National Trust and I love the valuable work they do to protect our heritage, so I feel massively let down that they cannot extend that ethos to choose an ethical bank, and end their relationship with Barclays.
Councillor Arnold Warneken, the Green Party councillor for Ouseburn who supported the protest said the red robed performers “highlighted the urgency of climate chaos and biodiversity loss”, adding:
The National Trust should play its full part in combating the climate emergency in every way it can. By following the lead of organisations like Christian Aid and Oxfam, they can put pressure on Barclays to end financing for the fossil fuel corporations who bear massive responsibility for climate breakdown.
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