Climate change activists paint red on front of London hotel

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LONDON, Aug 27 - Climate change activists painted red paint on the glass facade of the headquarters of the hotel Standard Chartered and on the medieval Guildhall Building nearby on Friday as they ramped up a two-week campaign focused on capital's financial district.

Hundreds of Extinction Rebellion protesters marched through central London carrying banners saying People over Profit and Built on Blood Money. Demonstrators had gathered near the Bank of England before moving to streets in the area.

A line of police officers stood in front of the Guildhall, the home of the City of London CorporationLondon Corporation which governs the city's financial center, after protesters painted red paint on the stone and glass front of the building.

Two men sat above its revolving doors in the Standard Chartered building. Stark blue paint was daubed on the facade and on the large red letters spelling out the bank's name.

Extinction Rebellion, which led to days of traffic chaos in London two years ago, has declared it is targeting the city's financial district. It accuses the industry of funding climate change.

The group wants an emergency response from governments and a mass move away from polluting industries to avert the worst scenarios of devastation outlined by scientists.

Extinction Rebellion's two-week campaign has prompted banks and buildings in London's second financial district, Canary Wharf, to increase security after its supporters previously smashed large glass panels on the buildings of banks there.

A Standard Chartered spokesperson said the bank's security team was working with police to protect the safety of staff.

We have been clear that we intend to remain leadership in articulating a path to net zero by 2050 and plan to commit to detailed transparency on our transition strategy and would place it up for shareholder advisory vote in 2022, the spokesperson said.