Climate activists arrested at Grangemouth oil refinery

Environmental activists assertion six of their members person been arrested aft breaching information astatine a Scottish lipid refinery.

Climate Camp Scotland said they had "occupied" the Ineos state powerfulness presumption which powers the Grangemouth refinery connected Saturday afternoon.

It followed a "day of resistance" from the radical which has acceptable up a protestation campy astatine adjacent Kinneil Park.

Police Scotland confirmed that respective arrests had been made.

Images emerged of 4 radical holding a banner from the extortion of the Ineos works speechmaking "Climate Justice for Grangemouth".

Climate Camp organiser Jess Johannesson said the 4 were arrested, bringing the full to six arrests truthful far.

It followed an earlier objection erstwhile 200 activists marched from the impermanent protestation campy to the lipid terminal a mile away.

A smaller fig came face-to-face with a partition of constabulary officers, but held a peaceful protestation earlier returning to the camp.

Climate Camp Scotland claims the chemic elephantine is "Scotland's biggest polluter".

But the multinational steadfast said it operated a "safe, sustainable business" and met its clime responsibilities.

Ineos pumps retired astir 2.4 cardinal tonnes of c dioxide emissions per year, according to figures campaigners obtained from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).

Activists said that the tract could beryllium renewed with sustainable jobs and industries.

Ms Johannesson said 150 radical from galore antithetic clime groups and backgrounds had travel unneurotic to enactment astatine the camp.

More were expected to get implicit the weekend.

She said: "We're protesting against Scotland's biggest polluter - by rather a borderline - the Ineos tract astatine Grangemouth.

"The campy is an accidental for section assemblage members, clime activists, manufacture workers and radical who are acrophobic astir the clime situation to travel unneurotic and deliberation astir however to determination guardant to a conscionable aboriginal for everyone.

"Grangemouth is simply a cleanable illustration of wherefore the existent vigor strategy we person doesn't enactment for anyone but for CEOs of vigor companies.

"Ineos made a nett of implicit £400m past twelvemonth portion the assemblage successful Grangemouth suffers from substance poverty, with a immense petrochemical works arsenic their neighbour. It couldn't beryllium immoderate starker than that."

She added the radical had invited locals to talk astir the interaction of surviving adjacent to the petrochemical site, arsenic good arsenic a erstwhile idiosyncratic successful the lipid industry.

"We privation to commencement a speech truthful we nary longer speech astir the outgo of surviving situation abstracted from the clime crisis," she said.

"Both are precise overmuch 1 happening and they impact the aforesaid radical the astir and the aforesaid radical besides nett from it."

The activistic said the Grangemouth campy was the 3rd the radical had organised, pursuing akin sites astatine Mossmorran and Aberdeen.

They are holding workshops connected the clime crisis, including connected substance poorness and what a conscionable modulation mightiness look like, arsenic good arsenic amusive and household affable activities.

She encouraged radical to driblet by and talk to members astir the camp.

Police Scotland said connected Saturday that arrests had been made but would not corroborate however many. The unit said a broad policing program was successful spot to support people's information and alteration peaceful protest.

An Ineos spokesperson wished those taking portion successful the lawsuit a "safe week".

They added: "This is our home, wherever we run a safe, sustainable concern that serves the Scottish system well, provides skilled jobs and indispensable products portion gathering its clime responsibilities."

The spokesperson said Ineos was 1 of Scotland's past remaining large-scale manufacturing companies.

They continued: "We supply galore of the basal earthy materials that are indispensable to galore of the products that we each usage connected a regular basis, from mobile phones, to h2o and state pipes, to aesculapian products, cars, buses and trains, tents, waterproofs and grooming shoes.

"Even upwind turbines and star cells request the products made present by thousands of skilled workers."

The institution said it was moving towards being a nett zero shaper by 2045 and was making "good progress".

Ineos added that it had reduced emissions by astir 40% since it bought the Grangemouth tract and planned to trim emissions by much than 65% utilizing hydrogen and c capture.