On the eve of Dirty Energy Month, activists from LMN member group WDM descended upon a branch of HSBC bank in the heart of the Square Mile. They cordoned off an area outside the bank with climate criminal hazard tape and informed curious passers-by of the bank’s investments in fossil fuel projects the world over.
They drew particular attention to coal mining in Kalimantan, Indonesia, which has destroyed communities and poisoned the local environment, all for a source of energy that is furthering us towards climate catastrophe.
They tried to hand in a cheque for 7p to ‘compensate’ HSBC for their occupation of 14 square metres of land in front of their branch – the same rate of half a penny per square metre the mining company BHP Billiton gave to local communities as compensation for taking their customary land in the Borneo rainforest. HSBC has helped BHP Billiton has raised over £1.8 billion in bond issues since 2009.
See more at http://wdm.org.uk/climate-change/hsbcs-climate-criminality and http://www.wdm.org.uk/climate-change/hsbc-shuts-down-city-branch-face-climate-protest.