Climate Camp Scotland is set to return to the Granite City this summer as protestors prepare to pitch their tents in opposition to Aberdeen’s oil and gas sector.
Aberdeen hosted a climate camp in late July and early August 2022, during this time protestors gained access to the restricted zone of Aberdeen Harbour.
Protests were held in the city centre and activists managed to stay at the Harbour for two hours before being moved on.
While tents were pitched at Torry’s St Fitticks Park, the Net Zero Technology Centre’s offices were also vandalised, however, Climate Camp Scotland never claimed responsibility for that.
© Supplied by Kami Thomson/ DC ThoLooking to this year’s action Climate Camp Scotland said: “Climate activists are planning actions against major polluters in Aberdeen this summer. “
The group said that its protests will “not result in disruption for the general public in Aberdeen.”
However, “any company involved in fossil fuel extraction is at risk of being a target for climate activists, as long as they are not committed to phasing out oil and gas as quickly as possible.”
Local oil firms advised on how to ‘make sure that the processes are peaceful’
As the city’s oil and gas businesses ready themselves for an influx of protests in the north-east of Scotland, Integrity HSE looks to provide firms with advice on how to best handle these demonstrations.
The Aberdeen headquartered consultancy recently completed its first acquisition, 14 months after opening its doors.
Integrity HSE picked up Praesidio which provides risk management, emergency response and consultancy services.
Praesidio’s former operations director Rob Diver joined Integrity HSE as head of risk and resilience at Integrity HSE. He has brought with him skills to offer peaceful protest strategies to energy businesses.
© Supplied by Kenny Elrick“What we do is we facilitate peaceful protests and we’ll work with our clients so that our clients are able to do that,” said Integrity HSE managing director Steven Haris.
“We’ll also work with local police to make sure that the processes are peaceful and we’ll be able to advise our clients and run them through things like exercises or training on how to keep them safe how to keep their businesses safe and… how to almost help the protestors fulfil peaceful legal protest, which is their right.”
The Praesidio team is built up of senior ex-police and armed forces personnel from across the UK, Canada, the United States, and the Middle East.
Mr Diver explained that it’s important for firms to not be “reactive in how they deal with climate activism.”
He encouraged businesses to “look at positive dialogue and engagement with protester groups.”
Looking to ‘create relationships’ between firms and activists
© Supplied by Scott Baxter / DCT MThe Integrity HSE head of risk and resilience is looking to “create relationships between energy companies and the groups” so firms can understand what activists hope to achieve from their action.
However, the coming protests organisers seem less open to the idea of fostering a relationship with oil companies.
Climate Camp Scotland added: “To the companies concerned about disruptive protest: We are the investment risk.
“As long as you are profiteering from fossil fuels, and trying to distract the public with vague promises around greenwashing solutions like hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, designed to continue oil and gas extraction, you will always face disruptive action from climate activists in Scotland and around the world.
“Step aside to give the workers you exploited and communities you harmed a stake in their own future, and make space for publicly owned renewable energy infrastructure that sustains people and planet.”
Accepting the right to protest
© Supplied by Kenny ElrickAberdeen oil firms are no stranger to protestor action, just last month a group of protesters set up shop outside Shell’s Aberdeen city centre office.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion Scotland stood outside the Silver Fin building on Union Street with a banner, a green washing machine and bath demanding that Shell end their “greenwashing and destructive climate policies”.
Protestors were taking a stand against the vote at Shell’s recent AGM that concluded the firm would reduce its climate reduction goals.
As firms brace for further action throughout the camp’s duration, Mr Diver says that businesses must accept “that there’s a right to protest within legal boundaries.”
He said that firms should “engage early” with activists to “making sure that it’s a process that can just take place.”
He also encourages the targets of protest to “understand everyone’s feeling speech and rights to their own opinions.”
This early engagement can also make sure that protests are not “any more disruptive than it has to be.”
Talking about disruption caused to local businesses and communities surrounding protest areas, Mr Diver said: “We can manage it far better than we are doing now.”
© Supplied by Scott Baxter / DCT MSince 2022 the UK government has attempted to roll out new powers for the police in how they handle protests.
Legislation introduced last year under the former home secretary Suella Braverman gave law enforcement a wider scope to stop disruption.
However, in May two judges ruled that the new powers did not have a proper legal basis. They added that the Home Office had also failed to consult properly on it.
On this, Mr Diver said: “There has been changes in legislation which have given the police more powers, but we’re not looking to in any way advise clients in any professional capacity that falls on the police’s jurisdictions.
“This is very much focused on making sure that companies have a degree of resilience. So they’re preparing themselves to allow the police to do their job properly.
“This isn’t about saying to organisations that you should demand this of the police, you should have this expectation on the police. It’s about saying to organisations, you should be aware of what the police powers are under the legislative statute of powers, recognising that’s what they do.”
Ultimately, firms need to be “dynamic,” Integrity HSE argues. “No organisation can plan for every existential threat, it is simply impossible,” Mr Diver added.
So, this summer will see a wave of protest action hit the Granite City, however, it is up to firms to train their staff in incident response to ensure the safety of both protestors and workers.
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