Protesters to target ‘major polluters’ as part of climate camp in Aberdeen

Hundreds of protesters are set to descend on Aberdeen later this month as part of a five-day camp in the so-called oil capital of Europe.

Climate Camp Scotland’s latest event follows approval for the Cambo and Jackdaw developments in the North Sea, and comes as Aberdeenshire Council prepares to decide if a new gas-fired power station should be built at Peterhead.

Organisers said the camp will end with a “rally and mass action”, targeting major polluters in the city.

Benji Brown, of Climate Camp Scotland, said: “As Britain bakes under record temperatures and wildfires scorch Europe, the UK Government is encouraging oil companies to drill every last drop from the North Sea.”

He added: “We need to tackle the climate and cost-of-living crisis through a switch to cheap and abundant renewables, ensuring the needs of communities and workers are prioritised over corporate profits.”

Activists said they wanted the UK Government to cancel plans for new oil and gas fields, and for the the local authority to reject the new gas-fired power station.

But a UK Government spokesman said: “We will not bend to the will of activists who naively want to extinguish North Sea oil and gas production. Doing so would put energy security and British jobs at risk, and simply increase foreign imports, whilst not reducing demand.

“We are committed to a strong North Sea industry as we transition away from fossil fuels over the coming decades, and our recent British Energy Security Strategy sets out a long-term plan to ramp up renewables and nuclear energy.”

Activists have also called on the Scottish Government to ensure communities and workers have a greater say over the Just Transition Fund in the region, and said hydrogen and carbon capture had been prioritised over publicly owned renewable power and the reduction in energy demand.

The protest camp will also be in support of St Fittick’s Park, which campaigners said was the only remaining green space in Torry, and would be lost to industrial development as part of the development of an energy transition zone.

Quan Nguyen, also of Climate Camp Scotland, said: “Neither the UK nor the Scottish government have a plan to phase out oil and gas at all, never mind in a way that protects workers and communities currently depending on the industry.

“Instead, Aberdeen City Council partners with climate criminals like BP for their net-zero strategy, and threatens to take away St Fittick’s Park from the Torry community to hand it to the fossil fuel industry.”

Last year, more than 150 people attended a protest camp outside a refinery in Fife, where they demanded it be shut down.

This year, the camp is set to run from July 28 to August 1, organisers said, and will include climate activists, trade unionists, and community campaigners.

An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “Aberdeen is proud of its role as an international energy hub and the council is proud of the relationship it has built over many years with the sector.

“The net-zero agreement signed with BP in 2020 is promoting the development of green technologies and positioning Aberdeen as a climate positive city.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said it was “committed to supporting Scotland’s just transition to net zero by 2045” and it was vital that as “we transition our society and economy towards a low-carbon future, no individual, community or region is left behind”.

“We are currently undertaking an extensive programme of engagement to ensure that our joint Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, due to be published later this year, takes into consideration the views of those most likely to be impacted by the transition,” the spokesman said.

“We are already investing in the oil and gas sector’s transformation. In addition to our expanded, £75 million Energy Transition Fund and £100 million Green Jobs Fund, our £500 million Just Transition Fund, which we have called on the UK Government multiple times to match, will support the north east and Moray become one of Scotland’s centres of excellence for the transition to a net-zero economy, with our investment supporting transformation across the region.

“We are, meanwhile, undertaking analysis work to better understand Scotland’s energy requirements as we transition to net zero, ensuring an approach that supports and protects our energy security and our highly skilled workforce whilst meeting our climate obligations.

“Our position is clear that unlimited extraction of fossil fuels is not consistent with our climate obligations, and we have consistently called on the UK Government to urgently re-assess all approved oil licences where drilling has not yet commenced against our climate commitments.”