THE Social Justice Group from Uppermill Methodist Church has delivered a letter to the Oldham Branch of HSBC in support of Christian Aid’s national Lent Big Shift campaign to tackle climate change.

A spokesperson for the group said it was worried about the bank's willingness to continue funding coal power projects in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, "affecting some of poorest people on the planet".

They went on: "Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel. All three countries are extremely vulnerable to the changing climate and yet conversely, all hold enormous potential for renewable energy.

"We are also concerned about the extent of HSBC loans to coal companies. These loans serve to prop up the global coal industry and threaten to cancel out the Bank’s restrictions on finance of coal projects.”

The group calls on HSBC to produce and carry out an action plan to phase out funding of fossil fuels for good and divert funding to renewables.

The letter was addressed to the chief executive John Flint and the group says it awaits his response.