CLIMATE activists took to the streets outside Barclays Bank Bangor to demand the bank reform its environmental policies.

Joined by MS for North Wales Carolyn Thomas, the protest aimed to highlight the bank’s role in the climate and ecological emergency, with protesters covering their hands in black oil to represent Barclays’ funding of oil exploration in the Arctic.

According to the Banking On Climate Chaos report, since 2015 (the year the Paris climate agreement was signed) Barclays has financed around £107billion in fossil fuels, making the bank the biggest financier of fossil fuels in Europe and the seventh largest in the world.

Tar sand funding and Arctic drilling were among the environmentally unethical practices at the forefront of the protest.

Member of Extinction Rebellion, Sophie Miller, 48, from Felinheli, said: “We are here today to raise awareness about our banks’ contribution to the climate and ecological crisis.

“Barclays Bank need to clean up their dirty act.

“And it is truly filthy – banks invest staggering amounts of money into fossil fuels, and Barclays is the biggest funder of fossil fuels in Europe.”

“Barclays are directly responsible for the destruction of the living world by funding fracking, Arctic oil and gas extraction, and industrial animal agriculture.

“We have delivered a letter today with a clear demand to the bank to act now.”

Cazzie Wood, 52, from Bangor, also took part in the action and said: “Fossil fuel companies can’t access fossil fuel reserves without borrowing large amounts of money from banks, so banks are key to how much fossil fuels are extracted.

“We need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, but projected fossil fuel investment is currently set to rise.”

A Barclays spokesperson said: “We are aligning our entire financing portfolio to support the goals of the Paris Agreement - significantly scaling up green financing, directly investing in new green technologies and helping clients in key sectors change their business models to reduce their climate change impact.

“By 2025, we will reduce the emissions intensity of our power portfolio by 30%, and reduce absolute emissions of our energy portfolio by 15%.

“Increasing at pace, Barclays has already facilitated £46bn of green finance.

“We are one of the only banks globally investing our own capital – £175m – into innovative, green start-ups.

“By deploying finance in this way, we are accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy and will become a net zero bank by 2050.”

Bangor City Council were approached for comment.