Add Category
Swiss police have been forced to clear climate activists from the heart of Zurich's financial district after they blocked entrances to two major banks.
- The activists say they want major Swiss banks to stop funding fossil fuels
- Last week they dressed up as bank executives and made hoax announcements about climate change
- They're planning more protests for Zurich and Bern in the coming days
They were protesting against lenders' financing of fossil fuel projects that damage the environment.
Swiss police led away singing and chanting activists after they refused to disperse on Monday.
They had taken up positions at the entrances to Credit Suisse and UBS in the Paradeplatz square in the Swiss financial hub.
"Credit Suisse and UBS have so far done anything but respond adequately to the climate crisis," Frida Kohlmann, spokesperson for the Rise Up for Change group, said in a statement.
Reuters via Schweiz Rise Up For Change
)"That is why the climate justice movement is occupying the Credit Suisse headquarters and the nearby UBS office today to draw attention to the consequences of the Swiss financial institutions' inaction."
Activists had staged a hoax outside Credit Suisse's headquarters last week.
Dressed in formal business attire, they posed as representatives of the Swiss bank and announced over a microphone in Zurich's Paradeplat that its funding of fossil fuel would end.
Credit Suisse declined to comment.
Reuters via Schweiz Rise Up For Change
)The protests comes amid a wave of civil disobedience by activists in Switzerland.
The European nation has seen the climate warm at about twice the pace of the global average, changing its famed mountain landscapes.
Protesters say they plan to set up a "climate camp" in Zurich until August 6, inviting financial sector representatives to an open dialogue on Wednesday.
Another protest addressing central bank policies is planned for August 6 in Bern.
Reuters/ABC