Climate campaigners performed a musical cabaret inside a Scottish branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland yesterday, to highlight its role as one of the world's largest funders of oil and gas extraction.

Peaceful protests in Glasgow and Edinburgh were part of a UK-wide day of action against RBS, which describes itself as "the oil and gas bank".

Demonstrators claim carbon emissions from RBS- supported projects around the world are greater than those for the whole of Scotland.

They argue that RBS provides capital for oil companies who perform drilling and pipelines in "some of the most sensitive places on the planet".

There were at least 23 actions at RBS branches throughout the UK yesterday, according to campaign co-ordinators Rising Tide.

In Glasgow, a duo known as the Treacle Tarts performed a singing and dancing cabaret inside the Gordon Street branch, urging customers to close their accounts. The bank closed for more than half an hour, while the protest continued inside.

In Edinburgh, students from the People & Planet movement staged their own protest.

Sarah Holliday, of the group, said: "RBS fossil fuels projects worldwide will lock us in to emissions for decades to come, making a low carbon economy impossible. "

A Rising Tide spokesman added: "Banks like RBS who profit handsomely from climate-destroying projects have stood in the shadows for too long, but they are as guilty as the oil companies."