Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace paraglided onto the top of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) press building on Wednesday, unveiling a banner protesting the bank’s links to fossil fuel polluters.
The protest took place on Wednesday morning after paragliders flew over Frankfurt’s main river before landing on the media building and rolling out a banner that called on the ECB to “stop funding climate killers.”
Footage of the incident circulated on social media with the ECB confirming a breach of security and stating that the police had been called, although it’s not clear whether any arrests have been made over the protest.
The protest took place following the release of a new report from Greenpeace, titled Greening the Eurosystem Collateral Framework, which alleges that the ECB has backed assets worth around €300 billion ($356 billion), benefiting fossil fuel companies such as Shell and Total.
“Instead of favoring fossil fuels, the ECB must at once exclude these toxic assets and change the rules to tackle the climate emergency we live in,” Greenpeace International’s executive director Jennifer Morgan said, following the stunt.
The ECB has previously established a climate change center to bring together all sectors of the bank to “work on climate issues.” However, the bank has not yet changed its investment policies to stop funding fossil fuel companies.
Like this story? Share it with a friend!
