As Extinction Rebellion activists persevere with a silent demonstration in the Highlands, the famed Red Rebels Brigade appeared to “bow” before their call for action.
Dressed head to foot in red with faces covered in white paint, five members joined the protest at the Invergordon Service Base of the Cromarty Firth Port Authority with a different approach.
Their crimson costumes – signifying the “common blood” between humans and animals – drew all eyes as they slowly made their way through a crowd of fellow activists.
As they bowed before a group of protestors, the Red Rebels brigade went down on their knees to break the otherwise silent march with the word “victory”.
Activists call for change
Dozens of protestors banded together in a peaceful demonstration this morning in effort to put an end to fossil fuel extraction and promote a “greener” world.
Armed with banners “climate emergency” and “no future in fossil fuels”, activists of all ages have been “blockading” the site since 6.30am.
A nearly 14ft tall prop oil rig made of scrap materials has been erected with the sign “Decommission me now” at the main entrance of the facility as a token of their cause and beliefs.
Police are also in attendance to manage the activity and mitigate any possible disturbance.
One of the activists at the site, retired history teacher John Lardner, claimed the demonstration was their only option.
The 69-year-old said: “The Chapham House report says that even if the Paris Agreement carbon emissions were achieved, we have almost no chance of staying below pre-industrial levels of warming. We have to act now. Our carbon budget is empty. We have no option.
“We need to have a full transition from fossil fuel industry to renewable industry. And it has to happen now.
“We’ve delayed, and delayed, and delayed – and now it has become absolutely urgent.”
No time to delay action
The group has also called for less investment in the industry and more support to transition skilled oil and gas workers into decommissioning and renewable industries.
Stage manager Catherine Idle, who is also attending the protest, thinks the transition is bound to happen sooner or later.
The 22-year-old said: “We need to start that transition from fossil fuel industry to getting energy from renewable sources now.
“Fossils are not sustainable and will have to stop – and they will stop at some point. But by then, it will be too late to do it in a way that’s fair for the workers and the people in the community that are relying on those industries.”
Engineering student Maciej Walczuk, 19, added: “We don’t have a choice, the fossil fuel industry is already causing deaths of the most vulnerable people on this planet.
“Places like this must look into the future, to survive they need to transform into doing work that doesn’t compromise our future instead of trying to continue making profit off the expansion of a deadly industry.”