There was a poignant moment at Barclays’ AGM today when Ocean Hyland, a 22-year-old First Nations activist from Canada, raised the issue of the bank financing a tar sands pipeline in British Columbia.

The Tsleil Waututh Nation fiercely opposes the development, which it fears will increase tanker traffic and bring with it a heightened risk of oil spills and pollution, facilitating the expansion of the Alberta Oil Sands in the process. It is backed by environmental organisations such as Greenpeace.

In March, I highlighted a damning report on the banking industry’s financing of extreme fossil fuels like this, which according to a coalition of non profit organisation surged to a $115bn (£84bn) in 2017.

Britain had only one bank in the top ten worst offenders in the form of HSBC. But last month that bank said it would mostly stop funding new coal power plants, tar sands projects and arctic drilling, a welcome sign of progress.

“We recognise the need to reduce emissions rapidly to achieve the target set in the 2015 Paris Agreement... and our responsibility to support the communities in which we operate,” Daniel Klier, HSBC’s group head of strategy and global head of sustainable finance, said at the time.

The decision was pragmatic: banks like his will suffer as much as the rest of us as the malign consequences of carbon pollution mount and the global economy takes the hit.

It also leaves Barclays as an outlier.

The answer Ms Hyland received when she raised the issue was similar to the one I got when I followed it up with the bank: We’re looking at the issue and preparing new policies for publication on extreme oil and on climate change.

At the meeting the re-election of Barclays chief executive Jes Staley was backed by more than 99 per cent of investors, despite the Financial Conduct Authority saying it wants to fine him for an attempt to unmask a whistleblower and the presence of activist Ed Bramson on the shareholder register. He's seeking a shake up.

In his opening remarks, Mr Staley declared “the huge task of restructuring Barclays” to be complete while hailing the “considerable progress” made against his strategy of making Barclays a transatlantic consumer and wholesale bank anchored in London and New York with “very positive consequences for the future”.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled – leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: “Europe’s largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

That could be seen as sending a message to Mr Bramson: We're on the right track so pipe down.

If that is so and Barclays is the strong bank with the potential Mr Staley says it has, the financing of the destructive activities Ms Hyland opposes, which represent only a relatively small part of its business, ought to be unnecessary.