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.
They 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 future of Torry
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.