Extinction Rebellion Scotland target BP lobbying event at Scottish Parliament

Activists from Extinction Rebellion Scotland staged a ‘bed-in’ and poured “oil” outside the Scottish Parliament today to denounce a private meeting betweeen MSPs and fossil fuel giant British Petroleum.

Two activists dressed as an MSP and a BP oil executive lay in a bed on the pavement outside the Parliament main entrance to protest at the overly cosy relationship between the company and decision-makers. Behind them, a black banner said, “BP: Bought Politicians”. At the meeting, BP executives are expected to talk about their continued production of oil and gas in Scotland and their widely criticised plan to reach net zero.

John, from Edinburgh, said: “Less than a month after COP26, where governments once again put fossil fuel interests over the needs of people and planet, BP are being welcomed into the heart of our parliament to talk about their plans to expand production and their ambition to reach net zero. But ambitions are not binding targets. Until they accept the severity of climate breakdown and set out clear actions to reduce fossil fuel production, everything they say is just greenwashing. BP are not part of the solution, they are part of the problem. The politicans may give them a warm welcome, but we will not”.

According to campaign group Behind the Logos, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 ºC finds that CO2 emissions must be halved within this decade. It sets out a pathway in which oil and gas use must decline by 42% by 2030 and by 85% by 2050, compared to 2019 levels. Yet BP still plans to sell oil and gas in 2050, well beyond the point at which fossil fuels should be all but phased out. In fact, the absolute emissions from the products BP sells will continue to grow until at least 2030.

Also during the protest, 2 activists poured fake, non-toxic oil into the pond outside the Scottish Parliament, turning it black, to highlight BP’s investment in the Trans Mountain Pipeline project in Canada. A second black banner carried the message, “BP Climate Criminals”. This Trans Mountain pipeline extension would triple the capacity of the existing system to 890,000 barrels of oil per day. It poses a devastating risk to the Salish Sea, and to the salmon, orca and First Nations who rely on it, and is strongly opposed by First Nations peoples.

Justin said: “It is an insult to the First Nations peoples and to the people of Scotland, for BP to be invited to our Parliament and given a platform to spout the Net Zero by 2050 nonsense, the excuse for not cutting emissions now. Especially when they are involved in a project that blows any chances of meeting 1.5 degrees and that threatens the waters, lands and human rights of First Nations.”

“Our elected representatives should be showing solidarity with the people most impacted by fossil fuel companies, not with the climate criminals who continue to value profit over human rights”.

End

Citations

BP and Net Zero: https://www.behindthelogos.org/bpnetzero/

Why fossil fuel production needs to decline rapidly to meet climate targets: http://priceofoil.org/2016/09/22/the-skys-limit-report/

Trans Mountain Pipeline:
https://www.desmog.com/2021/06/17/insurance-giants-under-fire-first-nations-trans-mountain-tar-sands-pipeline/