Members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) glued the doors of the Barclays bank branch in Farnham shut in the early hours of Monday.

It was one of 50 Barclays branches across the country targeted by XR and Money Rebellion activists on November 27.

Fuelled by frustration over Barclays’ substantial investments in fossil fuels – $190.58 billion since the Paris Agreement – the activists aimed to hold the bank accountable for contributing to climate change.

Activists emphasise the urgency of addressing climate change, urging customers to switch their accounts to banks with a stronger commitment to sustainability, emphasising individual power in effecting change.

Barclays responded, reiterating its goal to become a net-zero bank by 2050 and highlighting emission reduction targets and substantial green finance contributions.

A Barclays spokesperson said: “Aligned to our ambition to be a net zero bank by 2050, we believe we can make the greatest difference by working with our clients as they transition to a low-carbon business model, reducing their carbon-intensive activity whilst scaling low-carbon technologies, infrastructure and capacity.

"We have set 2030 targets to reduce the emissions we finance in five high emitting sectors, including the Energy sector, where we have achieved a 32 per cent reduction since 2020. In addition, to scale the needed technologies and infrastructure, we have provided £99bn of green finance since 2018, and have a target to facilitate $1trn in Sustainable and Transition financing between 2023 and 2030.”

The action caused only short-term disruption at the bank.