Rig Rebellion 2.0: Extinction Rebellion Scotland target Shell petrol stations in Glasgow

January 12, 2020

  • Extinction Rebellion Scotland are blocking the entrance to the Eglinton Shell petrol station to draw attention to the role of Shell and the rest of the fossil fuel industry in the climate and ecological emergency.
  • The science is clear, we are facing a catastrophe. And the fossil fuel industry is only expanding, with Shell production projected to increase by 35% in the next 10 years.  

This afternoon, Extinction Rebellion Scotland targeted the Shell petrol station at Eglinton Toll in Glasgow to highlight Shell’s role in the climate crisis. A group blocked access for seven minutes, holding banners which read ‘Fuelling Our Extinction’ and speaking with drivers about the emergency.

The petrol station actions are part of Rig Rebellion 2.0, a fortnight long campaign against the fossil fuel industry. It kicked off on the 6th January when three women scaled the VALARIS 122 gas rig, leased to Shell, in Dundee harbour.

Protests have also occurred in Edinburgh, when two individuals interrupted FMQs to demand real leadership from the Scottish Government in the face of the climate crisis.

Neil Rothnie, a former North Sea oil worker turned XR activist asked; “If the Scottish Government’s North Sea oil and gas plans go ahead as planned and are replicated worldwide, when will our planet crash and burn? Will my grandchildren see that?”

Jack Healy, an Extinction Rebellion volunteer at the Glasgow protest today, said “We’re taking this action today because Shell and the rest of the fossil fuel industry are at the root of the climate crisis. They’ve been wilfully concealing the truth about the climate crisis for thirty years. I can’t understand how, even now, while Australia is burning, they keep on extracting more and more climate-destroying oil and gas. They’re one of the the biggest energy company in the world and their greed is reducing our chance of keeping the Earth habitable.”

Extinction Rebellion Scotland have three demands for the Scottish and UK governments: tell the truth about the devastating impact of the fossil fuel industry on the climate crisis, act now to decommission oil and gas infrastructure, with a just transition lead by and for workers and communities, and set up a legally binding citizens’ assembly to make the decisions on how this will happen.

Despite the fact that the UK and Scottish Governments have declared a Climate Emergency, Shell are investing 95% in greenhouse-gas emitting oil and gas and only 5% in sustainable energy [1]. What is more, they are planning to increase the amount of oil and gas they extract by a third over the next ten years, which is predicted to be incompatible with keeping global heating to a relatively safe level of 1.5C.

The fossil fuel industry want us to believe they are an asset to our economy, that we need them. This is just not true. The fossil fuel industry worldwide receives five trillion dollars in subsidies each year. That’s 10 million a minute. Shell avoided paying corporate income tax in the UK in 2018 despite generating pretax profits of 731 million dollars. They pay their CEO 143 times what their average worker receives. And as Australia burns, Shell are celebrating the discovery of a massive gas field off the country’s western coast. 

More actions are taking place around Scotland over the next two weeks. Follow us on social media for more updates.

Ends.

Sources

  1. Research by Rystad Energy, commissioned by The Guardian. ‘Oil firms to pour extra 7m barrels per day into markets, data shows’, 10 October 2019:
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/oil-firms-barrels-markets
    Quote from the Guardian article from Lorne Stockman, at Oil Change International: “Rather than planning an orderly decline in production, they are doubling down and acting like there is no climate crisis. This presents us with a simple choice: shut them down or face extreme climate disruption.”

About Extinction Rebellion Scotland

Extinction Rebellion Scotland is a non-violent direct-action movement formed to take urgent action in the face of climate emergency and ecological catastrophe, as part of the global justice movement.

Our demands, issued as a Declaration of Rebellion to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government on 24 November 2018, are as follows:

  1. That the Scottish government tell the truth about the climate and wider ecological emergency, acknowledge and reverse any policies that help drive the climate crisis, and commit to enabling a rapid and just transition to a sustainable and fair society.
  2. That the Scottish government enact legally binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025, including by replacing a system based on accelerating consumption with one based on ensuring the well-being of all.
  3. The creation of a Scottish Climate Citizens’ Assembly to oversee the changes, as part of creating a democracy fit for purpose and a society that cares for all.

Read more about Extinction Rebellion: https://rebellion.earth