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Let's be friendsStudents back Obama call on public fossil fuel funding
Edinburgh students today backed Barack Obama's G20 call for an end to public funding for fossil fuels by protesting outside publicly-funded RBS who pour billions into oil and gas.
students outside the global central branch of RBS
Image © Ric Lander
Students from Edinburgh People & Planet today backed Obama’s G20 call for an end to fossil fuel subsidies. The students protested outside the Royal Bank of Scotland, who have continued to pump billions of pounds of public money into fossil fuels since they were bailed out by the Treasury last year.
The protest came as President Obama led G8 talks in Pittsburgh. On Tuesday, Mr Obama announced to the UN that he would use these talks to “work with my colleagues at the G20 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies so that we can better address our climate challenge.” The students donned Obama face-masks and held banners outside the global central branch of RBS, in Edinburgh. They called on the bank to “listen to Obama”. Others asked passers by to sign cards to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling on him to use the Government’s shares in RBS to build a green economy.
RBS are one of the largest funders of fossil fuel extraction in Europe. To avoid dangerous climate change, we must stop burning these fossil fuels.
The protest was a broader part of the People & Planet Ditch Dirty Development campaign. This is calling on the government to shift RBS investments from fossil fuels to renewables, and fund green jobs to build a low carbon economy.
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