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COP26: Greta Thunberg joins boisterous London protest

October 29, 2021

The Swedish teen joined protesters ahead of the COP26 climate conference to rail against banks profiting off environmental destruction. Organizers say similar protests were being staged in 26 countries around the world.

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Greta Thunberg and fellow protesters at a Fridays For Future Demonstration in London's financial district
Thunberg and other young protesters are calling on banks to 'stop funding our destruction'Image: Frank Augstein/AP Photo/picture alliance

Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg joined a small yet boisterous group of a couple dozen young people protesting in front of Standard Chartered bank in London's City financial district on Friday.

What happened during the protests?

Demonstrators had protested in front of other banks in the district before being joined by Thunberg. They are scheduled to hold a vigil in front of the Bank of England later in the evening.

Organizers said similar protests were being held in 26 other countries around the world in an attempt to focus attention on the fact that banks are profiting off of environmental destruction by funding the fossil fuel industry as world leaders prepare to meet in Glasgow, Scotland, Sunday for the COP26 climate summit.

Protesters say they are calling on financial institutions to finally stop the extraction of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.

"We've come here today as a part of this week of action because ... the UK and corporations in the UK have been funding climate chaos and the destruction of our islands for decades," said Joseph Sikuli, an activist from the South Pacific island nation of Tonga.

"Today we're outside @StanChart asking them to stop funding our destruction," Thunberg tweeted Friday.

'Climate justice' march also expected in Glasgow

Thunberg and other young activists from various corners of the globe will be traveling to Scotland for the 12-day United Nations COP26 climate change summit. Thunberg has also announced plans to attend a November 5 "climate justice" march in Glasgow.

A leader in the "Fridays for Future" climate protest movement that she is largely credited with starting back in 2018, the 18-year-old Swede was not optimistic that the 26th incarnation of the climate summit would bring about the dramatic changes needed to stop global warming.

"As it is now, this COP will not lead to any big changes, we're going to have to continue pushing," Thunberg told reporters at a climate concert in Stockholm last week.

js/wd (AFP, Reuters)