Climate activists with the global Extinction Rebellion movement blocked roads leading to London’s financial district on Monday to call attention to the role big banks play in funding fossil fuel projects and exacerbating the planetary crisis.
Protesters also rallied outside the Bank of England to demand that it “stop funding ecocide” and “invest in the future.”
“The city of London is a preeminent nexus of power in the global system that is killing our world,” Carolina Rosa, spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion (XR), said in a statement. “It is the epicenter of ‘business as usual,’ both in the U.K. and globally. If there is to be any hope for the future it cannot continue to operate in its present form.”
Emily Grossman, an expert in molecular biology who took part in Monday’s protest, slammed financial institutions for fueling the climate crisis by pursuing “huge investments” in the fossil fuel industry as scientists warn carbon emissions must be cut immediately to avoid global catastrophe.
The Guardian reported over the weekend that BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street—the world’s largest asset managers—”have built a combined $300 billion fossil fuel investment portfolio using money from people’s private savings and pension contributions.”
“They are using our own money—in terms of pensions and investments—to drive us all towards climate catastrophe,” said Grossman. “They are threatening the lives of our children and grandchildren for the sake of their profits.”
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