Extinction Rebellion activists break windows, stage protest outside HSBC HQ in London over fossil fuel financing
A group of female climate activists protested outside the headquarters of HSBC in London, breaking multiple windows and staging a sit-in over the bank’s involvement in financing the fossil fuel industry.
Nine women affiliated with the Extinction Rebellion group and Burning Pink political party showed up in Canary Wharf early Thursday. Valerie Brown, who is currently running for mayor of London, was seen among the activists.
“We don’t have the right to kill this planet for money.”Mayoral candidate Valerie Brown is among the women who targeted HSBC thIs morning. pic.twitter.com/2YtPKvVXPq
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) April 22, 2021
The group targeted the HSBC building, breaking a number of windows with hammers and chisels. They also plastered stickers reading ‘£80 billion into fossil fuels in the last 5 years’ on the windows of the bank. The women wore patches reading ‘Better broken windows than broken promises’, in a reference to the early 20th century direct-action protests by the Suffragettes.
BREAKING: This is an Act of Care. XR women break windows @HSBC for @money_rebellionHSBC is Europe’s second-largest financier of fossil fuels and has funded £81 billion to #fossilfuel since 2015 #ParisAgreement These companies are killing ushttps://t.co/ZbwDkCvh1Bpic.twitter.com/oPJHKmezLs
— Extinction Rebellion UK 🌍 (@XRebellionUK) April 22, 2021
After vandalizing the bank, the activists staged a sit-in protest, expressing their anger over HSBC’s involvement in the fossil fuel industry. The bank is the second-largest financier of the fossil fuel industry in Europe after Barclays. The latter was targeted by Extinction Rebellion in a similar window-smashing protest early in April.
Extinction Rebellion women break the windows of HSBC to condemn the bank’s 80 Billion Pound investment in fossil fuels the past 5 years.#betterbrokenwindowsthanbrokenpromises#xr#london#hsbc#moneyrebellion@xrebellionuk @extinctionrebellion @xr_london pic.twitter.com/qgvFmlzoXQ
— Joao Daniel Pereira (@joaodanielper) April 22, 2021
The protesters were confronted by security guards, and a sizeable police force eventually showed up. The women did not resist and were led away by police, footage from the scene shows.
HSBC has not only faced pressure over its links to fossil fuels from climate activists, but its own shareholders as well. In early March, the bank adopted a new climate goal, bowing to the shareholders’ pressure. HSBC is now seeking to phase out its financing of the coal industry in the developed world by 2030, and in the developing world by 2040.
Also on rt.com Extinction Rebellion activists arrested outside Barclays London HQ after breaking windows to protest bank’s fossil fuel financingThe new commitments went even further than the net zero carbon emissions goal announced by the bank last October, saying it has the “ambition” to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The announcement, however, faced backlash for its vague wording and for not directly addressing the financing of the fossil fuel industry.
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