Barclays faced a chaotic annual shareholder meeting as Palestine and climate activists repeatedly confronted the lender’s board over its ties to Israel and fossil fuel financing.
The UK’s biggest bank has come under fire in recent years for its links to Israeli government bonds and defence firms producing equipment used in attacks in the Gaza Strip, as well as companies driving large amounts of planet-heating emissions.
Disruption broke out at the beginning of the shareholder meeting in Westminster on Thursday, with groups of people being pulled out by security.
Chairman Nigel Higgins’ opening remarks were repeatedly interrupted as protesters stood up holding Palestinian flags and shouting comments such as “Free, free Palestine” and “Everyone here is profiting from genocide”.
Mr Higgins responded that the board had “heard your point” and would take questions on the topic during the meeting’s Q&A section.
A few minutes later, climate protesters rose from their seats and started singing: “Stop, in the name of love, before you break this Earth.”
One shouted: “This bank is financing the climate and nature crisis that we have to stop. Softly-softly, slowly-slowly is not good enough. You are endangering life on Earth.”
As the meeting moved to shareholder questions, the board was repeatedly quizzed about its recent fossil fuel financing.
Shareholders accused executives of failing to act with enough urgency over the climate crisis and criticised the board for leaving a key industry climate group, the Net Zero Banking Alliance.
A representative from ShareAction, which campaigns for responsible investment, called on the board to affirm that it will stick to its climate goals in light of its continued lending to oil and gas firms.
Mr Higgens said Barclays has “no intention of backtracking on its commitments” and remains on track to meet climate targets that it says are aligned with the UN Paris climate agreement to limit the worst impacts of global warming.
“I know this sometimes frustrates people who would like to see us move further, but we have got a big emphasis on consistency, not chopping, changing, going backwards, sideways,” he said.
On its oil and gas lending, Mr Higgins said the bank hit “quite demanding” targets for reducing financed emissions in the energy field and power sector early, although he also acknowledged that progress is “not going to be linear”.
In light of growing global energy demand and price shocks driven by the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, he said: “We feel we have to balance the planet with energy security, energy affordability and also ramping up our transition and sustainable financing activities.”
The board was also challenged about Barclays’ ties to the Israeli government after a UN report last year identified the bank as one of several firms implicated in profiting from a “genocidal economy” in Gaza.
Mr Higgins said the bank does not understand the “report”.
“We’ve read it and we don’t agree with the characterisation of the financial sector in it,” he said.
On its dealings with foreign governments, the chairman said the bank “tries to follow the policies set out by the British Government”, which continues to support Israel’s right to defend itself.
“These are deeply political and complicated questions and at one level, certainly, we take a steer from where our country’s Government is,” he said.
He added: “We do provide finance to a number of international defence companies who provide arms for the defence of this country, for the defence of Ukraine, and that is what the bank does.”
Asked if the bank will commit to supporting the sovereignty of the Palestinian people in any future dealings with Israel and its associated companies, Mr Higgins said: “The thing we all wish and pray for is peace in the region and reconciliation and an end to the appalling human cost on all sides of whichever frontiers you’re looking at.
“And all of the discussions around our policy, we shouldn’t lose sight of that fact – that is by far and away the most important thing to wish for.
“But I’m afraid I’m not going to go into our financing policies on specific clients.”
One shareholder shouted: “That’s not going to happen, Mr Chairman, unless commercial companies and banks stop financing Israel.”
City firms continue to face protests over their impact on people and planet, with NatWest’s AGM halted last week by activists accusing the bank of backtracking on climate commitments.
Wednesday also saw the London offices of insurance giant Aviva targeted by activists claiming the company underwrites or invests in companies profiting from immigration detention and surveillance, fossil fuel giants and weapons firms.
