Extinction Rebellion Protesters Target JP Morgan in COP26 Protest

By Euan Wood and Kieran Gallagher

Climate activists Extinction Rebellion held up the City Centre with a climate blockade directly outside the JP Morgan offices in Waterloo Street to protest the companies funding of fossil fuels and the inaction of world leaders during the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this month.

Over 200 demonstrators gathered from across Europe to unite in a peaceful protest against the bank’s continual investment into fossil fuel projects in recent years. The protest has featured a short march, public speeches, and live music.

Kate Griffith, 65, Extinction Rebellion member from Shropshire said:

"[I] Hope the world leaders wake up and listen and take the climate crisis seriously because I fear for my children, my grandchildren and what they face.

“We are facing an apocalyptic world. We are not being told the truth, the only thing they are concerned about is money.

"We are aware of the fossil fuels industry and the damage that they have been doing to planet for 60 years. It's the UK government who let them get away with it and fund them. It is madness, they are not taking it seriously.

"By 2050, 20% of the current habitable land will be inhabitable, which will result in famine, wars, fighting for resources, mass migration, and we are not being shown that picture.

"I think it will be a cop-out, Paris was a cop-out, already just in Europe there have been 73,000 deaths because of climate change, worldwide there's 5 million. Are we told that? No"

Another Extinction Rebellion activist who chose to remain anonymous said:

“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hadn’t come here and put my words in. It’s trying to give the guys over there and our governments and all the governments of the world, a kick up the arse to actually do something.

“I think I’m just one person out of many thousands here, but I’m trying to give that extra little pressure. I know that me, one person, can’t do very much. But, if we didn’t do something then we might as well give up and nothing would happen.

“No [I don’t think the conference will be a success]. Most of the things have been decided already. I think it will be lauded as a success, we are already starting to get soundbites of things like the stopping of deforestation and its great but it’s playing around the edges.

“They are missing the big white elephant in the room. Stop digging oil out of the ground, putting CO2 up into the atmosphere and until they do that, nothing’s going to change.”

Over 100 world leaders have descended upon Glasgow to reach an agreement on climate targets to reduce the levels of emissions and the overall impact of climate change. The COP26 summit, based at the SECC, will last until the 12th of November, with thousands of activists expected to attend.