RBS Profit Playground in Yorkshire
Students from across Yorkshire came together to mock RBS' obsession with fossil fuels, and call on them to fund the switch to a low carbon economy: watch the new video now.
Students hold a banner outside RBS while passers-by are encouraged to play games
In December, twenty-five activists from around Yorkshire came to Leeds for a fun-filled afternoon of ‘profit playground’ action against RBS. Laura from the Leeds P&P group wrote in with this report:
Members of the public were invited to join the campaigners in various games, including skipping (complete with RBS-related songs) and fishing for climate criminal facts with Fairtrade chocolate coin prizes! There was also the chance to play RBS itself in a race to build an oil pipeline in the fastest time but with the least cost. To construct their pipeline players crossed the giant playing board destroying rainforest, endangered habitats, people’s homes and communities. The cheaper (and more destructive) a route the players take the bigger the ‘bonus’ (in the form of chocolate money) they receive.
The games seemed to work well to engage a diverse range of people with the campaign.
Activist Sarah Gardiner explained:
A lot of people thanked us for what we were doing. Although it seems paradoxical to try to be friendly and approachable when we are informing people about such a negative issue, I think people respond to it very well and we seemed very well received.
This was all in the name of People & Planet’s Ditch Dirty Development campaign which is focussed on transforming RBS into the Royal Bank of Sustainability. RBS, previously known as the ‘Oil and Gas Bank’, is the UK high street bank with the largest investments in fossil fuel projects around the world.
Campaigners argue that now is the time for RBS to cut its investments in climate-damaging projects, and focus instead on investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. This would secure tens of thousands of new green jobs as well as contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy desperately needed to tackle climate change. Now that the government owns 84% of RBS it has the tools to finance this transition.
Outreach and action were the themes of the day. The activists were a creative, visual presence with opportunities for people to play games and sign action cards on the spot.
One campaigner, Clare Walden, reflected on the day:
Mothers and fathers with children stopped to play games to win gold chocolate coins – a really easy way to engage a new audience. Outreach is so important. Us lot alone cannot solve climate change. We need to engage every mother, father and child! (and even the suits occasionally).
Many of the campaigners will be heading off to Copenhagen where talks are taking place to create a new treaty on climate change shortly after the action.
Debbie Locke, one the activists going to Copenhagen said:
We hope this action will help expose the hypocrisy of the government who on one hand claim to be world leaders on climate change and on the other allow RBS to continue financing the expansion of fossil fuel use. The reality is Gordon Brown wants to continue business as usual.
