Supporters of Just Stop Oil have blockaded the Nustar Clydebank oil terminal in Glasgow, demanding that the UK government end new North sea oil and gas projects.
At around 4am on Tuesday, protestors from the group blocked access to the site near Yoker by climbing on top of tankers and locking themselves together at the entrance.
Others entered the terminal itself and have locked on at height in a bid to halt terminal operations.
The blockade is the first action of its kind in Scotland since the Just Stop Oil coalition and Extinction Rebellion (XR) announced a wave of protests beginning on the 1 April, aimed at halting new oil and gas projects and “stop[ping] the fossil fuel economy.”
Most recently, the group used similar tactics to halt operations at key terminals across England, including the Inter and Navigator Terminals in Essex and the Kingsbury terminal in Warwickshire.
Meanwhile, XR-led actions in London targeted the offices of Shell and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Just Stop Oil said its actions had resulted in over 1,200 arrests and “numerous” court appearances.
Commenting on today’s action, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers are currently engaging with a group of people who are carrying out a protest at Rothesay Dock in Clydebank, which was reported to police around 4.10am on Tuesday, 3 May, 2022.
“Police Scotland is a rights-based organisation that puts our values of integrity, fairness, respect and a commitment to upholding human rights at the heart of everything we do.
“This means that we will protect the rights of people who wish to peacefully protest or counter-protest, balanced against the rights of the wider community.”
The activist group said the government’s recent Energy Security Strategy “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 insulating homes which would support Scottish people “in the face of ever-increasing fossil fuel costs.”
In addition, it criticised plans to push forward with new oil and gas fields such as Cambo and Jackdaw – the latter also prompting protests earlier this month – and plans to hold a new offshore 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,’” the coalition said in a statement.
Jasmine 17, 'I know Scotland has the capacity to have a great future in wind farms & tidal energy. I know how great some of those wind farms can be for our communities'
Wind energy is between 1/4 -1/6th of the price per MWH compared to Gas. #JustStopOil #FundTheAlternatives pic.twitter.com/N847AUfvKO
— JustStopOil (@JustStop_Oil) May 3, 2022
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 CEOs get richer and richer. Oil is already having and will continue to cause disastrous impacts for Scotland”.
The group also said the recent energy strategy did not provide enough support for oil and gas workers looking to transition into other forms of employment.
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?”
Proposals for an “offshore training passport” were voted down at Westminster earlier this year, however training organisations and trade bodies have since pledged to work towards greater alignment.
Recommended for you
