Extinction Rebellion protesters dump manure at BP offices

Environmental activists have dumped mounds of manure outside the Aberdeen headquarters of oil giant BP.

Protesters from the Extinction Rebellion group said the stunt was part of their ‘Make The Connections’ campaign.

The group says BP “continues to wilfully obstruct diversification of the energy industry, creating a monopoly and crushing any competition”.

Protester Yolanda Cowen, from Aberdeen, said: “BP is now advising Aberdeen City Council on decarbonisation and dropping emissions.

“You wouldn’t trust a tobacco company to provide cancer care, so why are our political representatives allowing the least trustworthy company to muscle in on the most pressing issue of our time?

“They are literally the last people who should be asked. Based on the evidence – their track record – BP will always put their profits before anything else. This has moved past greenwashing, this is gaslighting.”

Aberdeen is only the second city in the world after Houston in the US to join forces with the energy company in such an arrangement.

BP and the local authority will also explore hydrogen power opportunities for transport and heating, while work will take place to increase the fuel efficiency of the council’s fleets of vehicles.

But the move has been criticised by organisations including Greenpeace UK and the Scottish Greens.

Aberdeen City Council declined to comment on the arrangement.

BP said it had achieved its net-zero ambition and strategy through “dialogue, not by stunts”.

A spokesperson said: “Our strategy is clear – by the end of the decade we aim to have developed ‎around 50 gigawatts of net renewable generating capacity – a 20-fold increase.

“We also aim to increase our annual low carbon investment 10-fold to around $5bn and we plan to cut our oil ‎and gas production by 40%.

“Many climate leaders have welcomed this strategic pivot from International Oil Company to Integrated Energy Company, but we recognise that some remain sceptical and that we must demonstrate through our transformation that we are on target for net-zero by 2050 or sooner.”

Extinction Rebellion says its ‘Make the Connections’ campaign highlights the collusion between governments, fossil fuels and finance in hampering action on climate change and puts profit before people.

Last month, the group targeted News Corp by staging an overnight protest outside a printing press for The Scottish Sun.

The environmental campaigners attempted to disrupt the distribution of the newspaper by demonstrating outside Newsprinters’ gates within the Eurocentral industrial estate in North Lanarkshire.

Chief inspector David Howieson said: “Around 12.15pm on Tuesday, October 20, officers were called to a report of a protest at BP headquarters on Wellhead Avenue, Aberdeen.

“Officers attended and spoke to those in attendance. The protest was peaceful and there were no issues.”