Climate protesters to set up camp at Fife chemical plant

A controversial petrochemical plant in Fife has been chosen as the site for a mass environmental protest this summer.

Protesters have picked Mossmorran petrochemical complex in Fife as the site for a five-day climate camp this summer

The Mossmorran complex, which is home to both Shell’s Fife NGL Plant and ExxonMobil’s Fife Ethylene Plant, has been announced as the base for this year’s Climate Camp Scotland demonstration.

The event will see activists set up a base at the site for five days in June or July.

The stated aim of Climate Camp Scotland is to “shut down the fossil fuel industry, ensure a just transition for communities and workers and create a world which is defined by fairness, not inequality”.

Mossmorran, which is Scotland’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, was picked from a shortlist of four sites across the country.

ExxonMobil has recently announced it will invest £140 million on upgrading its ethylene plant after a torrent of complaints over disturbances from unplanned flaring events.

“Now the climate movement in Scotland is putting Mossmorran at the top of its agenda,” said James Glen, chair of Mossmorran Action Group, who was among those at the meeting where the decision was made.

“Perhaps this will push the Scottish Government at long last to put the health and well-being of local communities ahead of the profits of Exxon and Shell.”

He added: “We’re very excited that Mossmorran has been chosen as a focus for climate action, and very grateful for the support that this will bring from activists in Scotland and further afield.

“Mossmorran is Scotland’s third-worst polluter, an essential link in the manufacture of plastics and a major recipient of fracked gas from the US.

“Despite all the rhetoric about a climate emergency and just transition, the Scottish Government has done nothing about Mossmorran apart from rubber-stamping a £140 million investment by Exxon. Shell is planning a further 50 years of operation.

“Mossmorran was selected in part because of the unprecedented engagement of local residents and communities affected by the plant’s operations.”

Climate camps are a growing international phenomenon where activists establish a temporary settlement over a number of days, providing workshops and training and encouraging direct action against the fossil fuel industry.

ExxonMobil declined to comment on the decision.