Singing and chanting climate activists blocked entrances to the headquarters of Credit Suisse and a UBS office building on Paradeplatz Square, at the center of Zürich's financial district, to demand that the two biggest banks in Switzerland divest from oil, gas, and coal. Police officers arrested about 30 people who refused to disperse during the peaceful demonstration.
Frida Kohlmann, a spokesperson for the Rise Up for Change group, said in a statement that Credit Suisse and UBS have failed to respond appropriately to the climate emergency.
"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."
Collectif BreakFree Suisse, part of the movement to stop financial actors from continuing to fund dirty energy projects that are fueling extreme weather-related disasters.
"Either phase out fossil fuels or face forest fires, famines, droughts, and floods."
It continued, "Credit Suisse claims to align itself with the objectives of the Paris Agreement... it is one of the banks that is fueling the climate catastrophe the most. Although Credit Suisse officially supports the objectives of the Paris climate agreement, it has been financing companies in the coal, oil, and gas sectors since 2015 with billions of dollars for the exploration, production, and processing of fossil fuels. Between 2016 and 2019, Credit Suisse invested (pdf) a total of $74.3 billion in fossil fuels. In particular, the bank provided almost $23 billion in financial support for global firms actively expanding their fossil fuels businesses."
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