In the words of the UN Secretary-General, “the gates to hell” have already been opened by ever-increasing CO2 emissions, and to avoid a catastrophic future, we must tackle not only fossil fuel companies but their enablers who “continue to invest and underwrite carbon pollution.” To have a fighting chance of a liveable world, emissions need to be 45% lower in 2030 compared with 2010 - but instead they are on track to be 9% higher. Energy companies have little to no plans to reduce emissions but instead are investing billions in expanding oil and gas reserves, where they make more profit than in renewables - and unlike other European banks, Barclays is still happy to finance them to do so.
NGOs and activist organisations are using adverts to raise awareness of how Barclays is driving the climate crisis, calling out some of the bank's worst actions - encouraging people not to bank with Barclays, and so putting pressure on the bank to change, as has worked before. You can read details of what's behind each advert below.
