‘Climate refugees’ locked up at the Oil Bank of Scotland

bristol | protests | press release Monday October 15, 2007 07:12 by Bristol Rising Tide

A group of ‘climate refugees’ are blocking the vehicle entrance to the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Corporate Offices at Temple Quay to shine the spotlight on climate criminals RBS, the self-proclaimed ‘Oil and Gas’ Bank.
Six people from Bristol Rising Tide for Climate Action dressed as homeless polar bears have locked themselves together and are currently preventing all vehicles entering the RBS branch. This is part of a National Day of Local Action against the Royal Bank of Scotland called by those hugely concerned with the devastation to the climate, planet and people.[1]

PRESS RELEASE
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‘Climate refugees’ locked up at the Oil Bank of Scotland
A group of ‘climate refugees’ are blocking the vehicle entrance to the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Corporate Offices at Temple Quay to shine the spotlight on climate criminals RBS, the self-proclaimed ‘Oil and Gas’ Bank.
Six people from Bristol Rising Tide for Climate Action dressed as homeless polar bears have locked themselves together and are currently preventing all vehicles entering the RBS branch. This is part of a National Day of Local Action against the Royal Bank of Scotland called by those hugely concerned with the devastation to the climate, planet and people.[1]
RBS-NatWest publicly promotes itself as “The Oil & Gas Bank”. They provide the financial fuel that is accelerating climate change. Without these loans to oil and gas corporations the projects would not happen. [2]It is estimate that in 2006, the bank provided over $10 billion to fossil fuels – more than five times that provided to renewable energy.[3]
RBS provide oil corporations with loans to build new massively ecologically detrimental drilling rigs, pipelines and oil tankers. [4] And as RBS’s profits rise so does the carbon in the atmosphere.
Global climate change already forces more people from their homes each year than war. And as the effects worsen, one in seven people on Earth today could be forced to leave their homes over the next 50 years. [5]
A polar bear said, “I am here to let RBS know that their funnelling of cash into fossil fuel projects is making myself and millions of other animals, including humans homeless.”
Another polar bear said “If carbon dioxide molecules had corporate tags of responsibility, the atmosphere would be full of RBS logos mingling with those of BP, Exxon and Shell!”
Contact:
Bristol Rising Tide 07951789187

Notes for Editor

[1] The day of action was called by the UK Rising Tide Network at this years Camp for Climate Action which took place next to Heathrow Airport. www.risingtide.org.uk

[2] In 2005 emissions from RBS financed oil and gas projects was about a quarter of the amount produced by all UK homes.

[3] taken from: The Oil and Gas Bank; RBS and the financing of climate change http://peopleandplanet.org/dl/ddd/rbs_report.pdf


[4] RBS is helping force open the carbon frontier, financing controversial projects in Nigeria, the Caucasus and Wales. Its involvement in Angolan and Nigerian oil fields encourages corruption and conflict, while gas projects from the Arabian Gulf to the Gulf of Mexico threaten environmental destruction.

[5] Figures from "Human Tide: The Real Migration Crisis," by Christian Aid. The report calls for "urgent action by the world community" if the worst effects of this crisis are to be averted.