Thread by @DoctorsXr

The #Barclays7 were neither imprisoned nor fined, but had to pay court costs of £500 each. They were each given suspended sentences for 2 years today in court. We have this message for the board of @Barclays
🧵1/15

To the board of @Barclays,

We express our bewilderment & dismay that Barclays chose to support the prosecution of these brave women rather than take heed of their warning. 2/15

This act of civil disobedience was taken to raise awareness within the bank about the serious & immediate risk to human health and the survival of the natural world, that @Barclays’ investment & financing strategy presents. 3/15

Since 2015 (when the Paris climate agreement was signed) & up to the end of 2021, @Barclays has financed around US $167 billion in fossil fuels!!!

Making your bank the BIGGEST financier of fossil fuels in Europe! 4/15
marketforces.org.uk/barclays/

More customers left Barclays than any other high street bank in the last 3 months of 2022. Given how much bad press your stance on fossil fuels has garnered in the last few years, it is perhaps no surprise. 5/15

mirror.co.uk/money/best-wor…

More and more websites are popping up showing the public how polluting your accounts are. For example - holding just £1000 in a #Barclays account for one year is MORE polluting than flying 1000 miles e.g. from London to Madrid @flightfreeUK
6/15
mymothertree.com/bank-league-ta…

And many are actively working to help customers move away from #Barclays. 7/15
bank.green/banks/barclays

Despite committing to tackle climate change, your actions have failed to match your words. Research shows that of the $billions @Barclays invests in energy financing - only a miniscule 2%!!! currently goes to support renewables like wind + solar! 8/15

We can only assume your financial strategy is based on a failure to fully comprehend the scope & severity of the current and expected impacts of the climate & ecological crises. 9/15

Otherwise we are at a loss to understand how those with responsibility for the strategic direction of the bank, many (we assume) with children themselves, could continue down this path 10/15

The latest @IPCC_CH report states clearly that we have a "brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all" and that achieving our targets means we need "deep emissions reductions across all sectors" this decade. 11/15

The @WHO tells us that climate breakdown is now regarded as “the single biggest health threat facing humanity”! 12/15

As health professionals it is clear to us that a global health catastrophe is unfolding now. The only way to halt this is to take immediate and concerted action to phase out all greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. 13/15

In the words of UN Secretary General @antonioguterres “Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness". So why does @Barclays continue to pour fuel on the fire???
14/15

We hope you will reflect on the information we have shared, & choose to respond heroically to the urgent situation. As health professionals we ask that @Barclays immediately cease all investments in new fossil fuel projects. /END