Singing activists disrupt NatWest meeting over ‘climate backtracking’ | NatWest Group
NatWest’s chairman was forced to defend the bank against accusations of “climate backsliding” at a chaotic annual shareholders’ meeting that was temporarily suspended because of singing protesters.
Shortly after the meeting began in Edinburgh, the meeting was adjourned for nearly half an hour after a protester interrupted Rick Haythornthwaite’s opening speech.
Protesters in the audience wearing black T-shirts saying “No more big oil” and “No more bombs” then sang a song to the tune of Frère Jacques with the chorus “No more bombs, no more oil”. They appear to represent Extinction Rebellion’s XR Money Rebellion campaign group, which has targeted NatWest and other banks for funding fossil fuel projects.
When the meeting resumed, it was dominated by shareholders’ questions about NatWest’s climate policies and staff pay compared to high executive pay packages.
Recent changes to the bank’s climate policy include removing its commitment not to lend to any oil and gas company that does not have a credible transition plan or does not report its overall carbon emissions.
Mara Lilley, representative of the Church of England pensions board, C of E board Voted against Haythornthwaite’s re-election over “concerns about NatWest backtracking on climate commitments””.
In response, Haythornthwaite, who started his career in the energy field doing exploration work for BP, said that as a “geologist by background” he takes climate breakdown “very, very seriously, as does this whole board”.
He added: “We had to wrestle with the question of how to balance supporting our customers in their business. [energy] Transition efforts to manage the risk of an increasingly complex policy environment.”
Haythornthwaite said NatWest was retaining two key targets: halving its climate impact compared to 2019 levels (which is now at 39%) and achieving net zero emissions from its funding by 2050. “Those commitments have not gone away.”
He added that the bank, which provided £19 billion for energy transition financing in the second half of 2025, is targeting a new target of £200 billion in sustainable loans by 2030.
NatWest’s chairman said oil and gas financing made up “only” 0.6% of the bank’s total loans and that NatWest would not invest in controversial projects such as shale oil and gas oil sands or coal gas, methane or coal liquefaction.
He described the company’s policy changes as a “slight shift” in its climate commitments, adding: “We think we’ve found a pragmatic middle ground.”
But investors disagreed. Share Action’s Jeanne Martin said: “NatWest Group is playing a key role in the economy’s transition to net zero” but in February “reduced its ambition on fossil fuel policy and climate targets”.
His organization speaks on behalf of 19 institutional shareholders with $1.4 trillion in assets. Share Action had said before the meeting that “such backtracking will have real consequences”.
He requested a meeting between these investors and Haythornthwaite within three months, and Haythornthwaite agreed.
Haythornthwaite was re-elected as director with the support of 92% of shareholders, the lowest approval vote of the 25 resolutions.
Responding to the vote, Martin said: “This is a significant level of opposition in a system where chairmen are normally paraded with overwhelming support.
“This reflects investor concern that rescinding the bank’s fossil fuel policy risks accelerating exposure to physical risks such as floods and heatwaves, while also storing long-term financial instability for the future.”
Two representatives from Unite, including the union’s leading industrial organiser, Michelle Smith, asked questions about NatWest’s rising dividends and executive pay packages.
Smith said bank staff were “seeing shareholder dividends and executive pay packages increasing at inflation-busting levels, while we have members visiting food banks who are having to choose between eating and keeping warm.”
Haythornthwaite said he was hopeful the bank could reach an agreement with the union soon, saying: “We want to be able to give our colleagues a fair reward for the significant efforts they put in at the company, and we need to balance this with the long-term sustainability of the business.”
In February, NatWest reported that boss Paul Thwaite would receive £6.6 million; It is the biggest payout for a chief executive of the banking group since his disgraced predecessor Fred Goodwin took home £7.7 million in 2006. Last year, the UK government sold its final stake in NatWest, ending 17 years of state ownership.
