Protesters blockade government building over new oil drilling plan
Environmental protesters were blockading a UK government building in Edinburgh yesterday, calling for the Prime Minister to veto plans to drill a new oil field in the North Sea near Shetland.
A group of a dozen activists entered the entered Queen Elizabeth House, the new UK government hub on Edinburgh’s Sibbald Walk, yesterday morning and blocked the main entrance by sitting and lying down.
They were demanding that Boris Johnson put a stop to the expected approval of the Cambo oil field in the North Sea. The oil field is 30 per cent owned by petroleum giant Shell and 70 per cent by private equity firm Siccar Point Energy.
It is estimated to contain more than 800 million barrels of oil.
In its first phase, the project expects to extract 150 to 170 million worth of barrels.
Campaignersfromthegroup Stop Cambo Scotland say burning this amount of fossil fuels would create emissions equivalent to a year’s output from 16 to 18 coal-fired power stations.
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), part of Westminster’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is set to decide in coming weeks whether to approve or reject the plans. The application comes just months before the UK is due to host the COP26 United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, where countries from across the world are due to set out how they will cut greenhouse
gas emissions to curb global warming.
Mikaela Loach, a fourthyear medical student and climate activist, was one of those staging the protest. She said: “Floods are ripping through Germany. Madagascans are starving and thirsty in a fierce drought. North Americans are dying in unprecedented deadly heatwaves and wildfires rage. And the Amazon is emitting more carbon dioxide than it absorbs.
“In all this chaos, the UK government, host of the COP26 UN climate negotiations, is happy to sign away 800 million barrels of oil, just so a few shareholders can turn a profit.”
In May, the International Energy Agency said investments in new oil and gas projects and polluting coal power plants must be halted to help tackle the climate crisis.
Neil Rothnie, a former oil worker and founding mem
ber of Offshore Industry Liaison Committee, said: “I don’t believe that we can just keep on exploring for and producing all the planet’s oil and gas. My understanding of the science is that if we do that, climate change will destroy the planet as we know it and much of the life it supports.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said police were “engaging with a group of peaceful protesters within the UK government building”.
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “Following an incident this morning at Queen Elizabeth House in Edinburgh, We are working with the police to ensure everyone’s safety.
“Currently the vast majority of UK government civil servants continue to work from home. This means our services are unaffected by today’s activity.”