We were both celebrating and protesting at the HSBC sponsored Big City Bike Ride. HSBC are the UK’s biggest investor in fossil fuels but they claim that they are helping to create ‘a happier, healthier, greener Britain’. We are calling on HSBC to put their money where their mouth is and move their money from dirty energy to renewables.
In the morning, four of us were dismayed to be asked to leave De Montfort University campus by security. We were protesting peacefully to highlight HSBC’s hypocrisy in sponsoring this event but the security told us we were not welcome. Compared to our four or five little signs, HSBC were allowed to adorn the entire campus with their branding and advertising. We will be contacting the university to discuss their decision to ban free speech.
The episode was widely discussed on social media. Reece Steven Stafferton, a DMU student, said:
‘Why does it seem like DMU are protecting HSBC’s investment in fossil fuels? They claim to be about sustainability but then do this? As a student, I'm ashamed!’
During the afternoon, we invited cyclists and passers-by to take a selfie with messages such as: ‘HSBC: Stop pedalling fossil fuels’. People were offered a tool to tell them how they can influence the big banks to dis-invest from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy instead. We also cycled around the route with bespoke banners displayed on our cycle pannier racks in order to carry the message throughout the city.
Additional information:
1. Ethical consumer: Christian Aid:Our Future in their Plans: Why Private Finance is the Public’s Business (November 2016); Rainforest Action Network (RAN) Reports: Shorting the Climate: fossil fuel finance report card 2016 (2016) ; www.banktrack.org:banktrack.org (30 April 2011)
A recent Christian Aid report found that, following the Paris Climate Agreement, the big four banks are still investing far more in fossil fuels than in clean energy, therefore putting our health and the health of the planet at risk, and also taking unacceptable risks with customers’ investments. Specifically, the report stated that, HSBC Bank had no timeline for a transition plan; was still financing coal, oil and gas; and did not have measurable targets for increasing financing to renewables.
