CAMPAIGNERS from Helensburgh held a protest outside the town’s branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland urging the bank to stop using people’s savings to support fossil fuel companies.

Members of the Eco Congregation Helensburgh and Lomond Network and Helensburgh Christian Aid Group took part in a nationwide campaign by gathering outside the Colquhoun Square RBS branch.

Christian Aid has revealed that high street banks are still using savers’ money to support fossil fuel companies, even though governments, scientists and even the banks themselves are in agreement that we need to move away from coal, oil and gas to protect our planet.

The Helensburgh and Lomond based group – comprising Rev Mitchell Bunting from the Helensburgh United Reformed Church, Rev Margaret Nutter of the Church of Scotland, Mary Sweetland from Eco Congregations Scotland, and Elizabeth Lambert from Christian Aid in Helensburgh – presented messages from the community explaining why the bank needs to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy as part of the organisation’s Big Shift Campaign.

Mary Sweetland explained why she had decided to talk to her bank about the problem.

She said: “I have made changes in my own life to try to tackle climate change, as have many people and businesses in our community so it’s nonsensical to me that my bank is still using my own money to support companies who continue to destroy the planet.

“The bank says it supports action to prevent further climate change, but uses my money to support fossil fuel companies. That must change.”

An RBS spokesman said: “We have been engaging closely with Christian Aid and other groups on the issue of fossil fuel financing and climate change.

“We fully support the ambition of the Paris agreement to limit global temperature rises to 1.5-2 degrees.

“In recent years we have substantially reduced our lending to fossil fuel industries and expanded our lending to sustainable forms of energy in the UK.

“However we are working hard to further expand our approach to addressing the risks and opportunities associated with the low carbon transition.”