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Manchester students stage rooftop protest to remove RBS-NatWest from campus.
On top of it
Image © Toby Bright
On Wednesday students held a rooftop protest demanding that RBS-NatWest be evicted from the Manchester University campus.
Manchester Uni and Manchester Metropolitan Uni P&P groups are encouraging students to vote in favour of removing the bank when their lease comes up for renewal next year.
This comes in light of the bank, which is now 70% owned by the taxpayer, being accused of irresponsible lending and driving the credit and climate crises.
RBS-NatWest sunk $10 billion into gas and oil projects between 2001 and 2006, and an estimated $16 billion into coal projects and companies between 2006 and 2008. The emissions associated with these loans were estimated to be greater than the emissions of the whole of Scotland in 2006.
Students argue that this money should be invested in clean energy technology to avert runaway climate change and its symptoms, such as creating millions of climate refugees as the sea levels rise.
A Manchester student said:
We hope to send a clear message to RBS that if they continue with their irresponsible investments then they will not be welcome to rent branch space from our student union”
Toby Brett, 19, Physics Student
Check out more of the photos on the People & Planet Flickr page.
Be part of the movement against RBS-NatWest by:
- Sending loads of signed action cards into the P&P Support Office by 16 February 2009, for a mass hand-in event.
- Emailing Steven Hester the RBS-Natwest chief exec, and the UK Government (now the majority shareholders).
Discussion
This discussion ended on 12 Mar 2009