Climate change protestors block Clydebank oil terminal
Members of Just Stop Oil set up a blockade at the Nustar terminal at around 4am on Tuesday
Last updated 3rd May 2022
Climate change protestors have blocked the entrance to an oil terminal in Clydebank.
Members of Just Stop Oil set up a blockade at the Nustar terminal at around 4am on Tuesday by climbing on top of oil tankers and locking on at the entrance.
Other demonstrators have entered the oil terminal with 12 sitting on pipes and three on the silos to halt operations.
The group says the action is part of its demand that the UK Government ends new oil and gas projects in the country.
The group has been carrying out a campaign of action to disrupt the UK’s oil supply since April 1st, but this is the first demonstration of its kind in Scotland.
Police Scotland confirmed to MFR News they were in attendance having been called out shortly after 4am.
The group says the action comes against the backdrop of the Government's recent energy strategy, which it claims failed to outline how it will ensure no-one is left behind in the coming transition to a zero-carbon economy, and failed to provide a route to widespread insulation which would protect the people of Scotland from the misery of cold homes in the face of ever increasing fossil fuel costs.
The rationale behind Just Stop Oil’s demand for no new oil and gas is backed up by the United Nations and the International Energy Agency. Meanwhile, the government is pushing forward with new oil and gas fields including Jackdaw and Cambo and plans a new Autumn licensing round. Maximising economic extraction while also claiming to have a zero-carbon strategy is leaving the country at the mercy of eye-watering energy costs and is “moral and economic madness.”
Eilidh, 20, a supporter of Just Stop Oil from West Lothian said:
“62% of Europe's oil comes from the North Sea and Scotland doesn’t own a single drop of it . People in Scotland are currently suffering from fuel poverty whilst the billionaire oil CEO’s get richer and richer.Oil is already having and will continue to cause disastrous impacts for Scotland”.
A recent report outlined how the majority of workers in North Sea oil would welcome the ability to move from destructive oil and gas employment to well paid decent jobs; the Government's energy strategy was also lacking how this will be achieved.
Neil Rothnie, 69, a retired offshore oil and gas worker from Glasgow said:
“North Sea oil and gas does not offer energy security. The North Sea oil and gas industry has one priority and it is not the climate crisis. It’s not the future of North Sea oil and gas workers. And it’s certainly not whether the poor can stay warm. If the government was serious about a just transition we would be seeing it here in Scotland. Where are the turbine factories in Scotland? Where are the yards building platforms for offshore wind? Where are the projects to properly insulate our houses? When will we get free public transport?”
The Just Stop Oil Coalition is calling on all of those whose futures are being destroyed, who are facing poverty and who are outraged at the prospect of continuing our dependence on fossil fuels to step up and take action.