Barclays bosses defend climate ambitions after 'fake oil' sprayed on HQ
07/05/2020 10:16
LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - The Chairman of Barclays BARC.L
said the British bank "can and should play a leading role" in
tackling climate change, hours after environmental activists
sprayed "fake oil" on its headquarters to call on the lender to
divest from fossil fuels.
Nigel Higgins said the lender was committed to becoming
greener.
"The size and scale of our business means that we can really
help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy," Higgins
said in a statement marking the British lender's annual investor
meeting, due to be held behind closed doors to comply with
COVID-19 social distancing rules.
Barclays has faced growing criticism over its environmental
credentials, with some shareholders demanding radical reforms to
its Big Oil and fossil fuel financing policies.
Investors voted remotely ahead of the meeting on two
separate climate change motions - one backed by investor group
ShareAction and the other by the Barclays board - with results
due to be published later on Thursday.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion said biodegradable and
vegan "oil" was sprayed onto Barclays' office in Canary Wharf in
London in protest against the bank's financial support of energy
and utility firms. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N2CF004
Barclays declined to comment directly on the Extinction
Rebellion protest.
Higgins also said in the statement that the cancellation of
the bank's dividend at the behest of the Bank of England had
caused an "immediate and unwelcome" impact on shareholders,
adding that the bank could have afforded the payout.
Prior to the virus outbreak, Barclays had been preparing for
a further tussle at its annual meeting with activist investor Ed
Bramson, but Bramson paused his campaign to oust CEO Jes Staley
last month, saying responding to the pandemic should be the
priority. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2C41WN
Separately on Thursday, the British parliament's treasury
committee asked Barclays to explain delays to granting emergency
loans to small businesses, amid criticism of banks for sluggish
delivery of state-backed loans to struggling firms. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N2CF003
(Reporting by Sinead Cruise and Iain Withers
Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes)
((Iain.Withers@thomsonreuters.com; +44(0)207 542 3330;))