Greta Thunberg joins London climate protest outside JP Morgan’s Canary Wharf office

Greta Thunberg has joined a protest outside JP Morgan demanding that the bank stops funding fossil fuels.

The 20-year-old Swedish climate activist joined the group Fossil Free London early on Thursday (19 October) as they gathered outside the bank’s office in Canary Wharf. Protesters sat on the pavement to block the entrance to the building, chanting “oily money out” as they waved banners which read “their profit, our loss” and “stop financing fossil fuels”.

It comes just two days after Thunberg was arrested during another protest organised by Fossil Free London, outside a hotel near Hyde Park. The Intercontinental London was hosting the Energy Intelligence Forum, which was being attended by the heads of major oil and gas companies, including Shell CEO Wael Sawan.

Speaking at the rally, Thunberg said: “Behind these closed doors at the Oil and Money conference, spineless politicians are making deals and compromises with lobbyists from destructive industries - the fossil fuel industry.

“People all over the world are suffering and dying from the consequences of the climate crisis caused by these industries, who we allow to meet with our politicians and have privileged access to.”

After her arrest, Thunberg was charged with a public order offence by the Met Police. She will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 15 November.

Commenting on its protest outside JP Morgan, Fossil Free London said the bank has continued to be a major source of funding for fossil fuel projects despite the Paris Agreement in 2016, which saw governments around the world agree to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5C.

Campaigner Henry, who did not want to give his surname, told PA: “Since the Paris climate agreement they have been the worst financiers of fossil fuels, having provided $434 billion (£357 billion) in finances.

“They are making billions of profit every year at a time of worsening inequality when so much of the world is being devastated by the climate crisis.

“We think there should be no new fossil fuel investment or financing from JP Morgan and we think that some of their billions of profits should go towards loss and damage to the communities affected by climate change, and provide the financing for adaptation and mitigation measures.”