Plymouth XR protesters hold Barclays demonstration

Extinction Rebellion urged the bank to invest in green technologies

Environmental campaigners targeted Barclays in a campaign aimed at cutting the finance giant's investments in fossil fuel firms.

An Extinction Rebellion (XR) campaigner held a banner on top of a ladder outside a branch of the bank in Armada Way, Plymouth.

Others marched through the city centre, banging drums in a mock-funeral procession.

Barclays said it was "significantly scaling up green financing".

Barclays said it was significantly scaling up green financing

Protester Emma-Rose Goodwin said: "We are protesting about Barclays' investment in the fossil fuel industry.

"They are one of Europe's largest investors in fossil fuels. They are literally fuelling the climate crisis."

She urged the bank to invest in green technologies "to help us transition to a future that is liveable for our planet".

A Barclays spokesperson said the bank was "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".

It said that by 2025 it would "reduce the emissions intensity of our power portfolio by 30% and reduce absolute emissions of our energy portfolio by 15%".

The bank itself would become a net zero business by 2050, it added, meaning it would not add to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.