Just Stop Oil has taken action in Scotland for the first time, with more than 50 activists blockading an oil terminal in Glasgow.
Shortly before sunrise on Tuesday, about 40 supporters of the civil resistance campaign against fossil fuel production blocked the entrance to the Nustar Clydebank terminal, locking themselves together and climbing on tankers.
Fourteen more activists made their way inside, with three scaling a storage silo and the rest climbing into pipework distributing fuel around the site, halting operations.
The action marks a shift in strategy for the group, which had previously targeted oil terminals, tankers and petrol stations in the Midlands and south-east England in an effort to disrupt the oil supply to London.
Just Stop Oil, which is calling for the government to promise a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects, said the action was prompted by plans for new oil and gas fields in the North Sea, off Scotland’s coast.
Among those taking part was Neil Rothnie, 69, a retired oil and gas worker, who 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?”
Supporters of Just Stop Oil have been arrested more than 1,200 times since the campaign began at the beginning of April. They have vowed to continue disrupting UK fuel infrastructure until their demands are met.
