Environmentalists held a demonstration outside Barclays in Stevenage town centre on Saturday to highlight the bank's involvement in "some of the most environmentally destructive projects in the world".

Members of the Stevenage, North Herts and East Herts branches of the environmental group Extinction Rebellion (XR) joined forces in The Forum on Saturday to take coordinated action against Barclays.

An XR spokesman said Barclays is "the biggest investor in fossil fuels in Europe and the seventh largest investor in the world, and is behind some of the most environmentally destructive projects in the world".

She said: "Since 2015, it has poured $145 billion into global coal, oil and gas exploration. The financial giant’s support for the most environmentally damaging fossil fuel sectors - fracking, tar sands and Artic oil and gas - increased by 32 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019.

"The bank’s determination to continue to invest in coal, oil and gas worldwide is harming the planet and people’s lives. Our daily news includes coverage of melting ice caps, bleaching coral reefs, forest fires, flooding, more intense storms and heatwaves.

"Over one million species are under threat of extinction and huge numbers of people are on the move to escape drought and flood, unable to grow crops and feed themselves."

Extinction Rebellion is a global movement founded in the UK in 2018 after the first United Nations' climate report warned we have until 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

The XR spokesman said: "The United Nation’s follow-up report came out this month. The science now shows, without a doubt, that we are creating the climate and ecological emergency. Since the first report, just three years ago, the situation has become more dangerous and unpredictable. We must act now to pressure governments and companies to change."

Saturday's demonstrators are calling for Barclays to withdraw from coal, gas and oil investment and invest in renewable energy instead.

Amanda King, for XR Stevenage, said: “The action was a great success. Thank you to all the Stevenage residents who chatted with us, asked questions and took a leaflet home.”

A Barclays spokesperson said: “We have made a commitment to align our entire financing portfolio to the goals of the Paris Agreement, with specific targets and transparent reporting, on the way to achieving our ambition to be a net zero bank by 2050. We believe that Barclays can make a real contribution to tackling climate change and help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.”