BARCLAYS is again being criticised by Poole councillors who claim the company is failing to take climate change seriously enough.

The bank is the BCP Council’s official banker with a rolling five-year contract.

At tonight’s (June 21) Poole Charter Trustees meeting Poole Independent group councillors Felicity Rice and Andy Hadley will ask for backing to a motion which condemns Barclays for what is claimed to be a ‘business as usual’ approach and a failure to consider options for a liveable planet.

Cllr Rice and Hadley say Barclays should adopt the International Energy Agency Net Zero Emissions scenario as a minimum standard to reflect the climate risks it is exposed to, as Europe’s second largest provider of financing to top oil and gas expanders.

The motion claims that Barclays ranks 1st on oil sands financing among European banks and 7th globally over the period 2016 to 2020.

In January, after similar criticism, the bank defended its climate investment policies in a statement: “We are aligning our entire financing portfolio to support the goals of the Paris Agreement – significantly scaling up green financing, directly investing in new green technologies and helping clients in key sectors change their business models to reduce their climate change impact.

"By 2025, we will reduce the emissions intensity of our power portfolio by 30 per cent, and reduce absolute emissions of our energy portfolio by 15 per cent. Increasing at pace, Barclays has already facilitated £46bn of green finance."