Extinction Rebellion Scotland: Watch as climate group campaign on the roof of the Scottish Parliament

Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion Scotland led a protest on Thursday morning on the roof of the Scottish Parliament.

Three activists climbed to the top of the roof and hung the banner ‘Choose Oil or Choose Life: Act Now’ and plan to remain there until First Minister’s Questions ends at 2pm.

The group are launching their ‘Make The Connections’ campaign against the Scottish Government’s involvement with the fossil fuel industry.

Picture credit: Lisa Ferguson

They say that the government has implemented weaker climate change policies in order to increase the profits of these industries.

One climber, Myke Hall, 33, a writer from Leith commented: “If the Scottish Government really wants to be world leaders on the climate emergency they need to stop pretending that big fossil fuel companies are part of the solution.

“These corporations have known about ecological breakdown for decades and have only drilled deeper.”

Another climber, Meg Peyton Jones, a biologist from Edinburgh added: “Scotland is financially and politically tied to a destructive and dying industry: this does not have to be the case, and we call on the government for a just transition away from oil, led by the workers rather than

Picture credit: Lisa Ferguson

corporations.”

The campaign will take place over three weeks, with the first week focusing on the government, the second week focusing on finance and the third week focuses on fossil fuels.

Its last day is on October 26 when the Scottish Parliament reconvenes after their October recess, and on this day a ‘synchronised creative process’ will take place in several locations simultaneously.

Posters with the slogan ‘Choose Your future, Choose Life’ have appeared in bus stop advertising boards in Dundee, Aberdeen, Stirling and Edinburgh overnight as part of this movement.

Picture credit: Lisa Ferguson

Extinction Rebellion are a non violent group that campaign for action in the current climate emergency.

They issued a Declaration of Rebellion to the Scottish Government in 2018 listing their demands which are that the Scottish Government tell the truth about the climate and wider ecological emergency, that the government enact legally binding policy to lower emissions and that a Scottish

Climate Citizens’ Assembly to over see all the changes made.

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