An occupation of an INEOS oil tanker terminal took place this morning in as part of a climate camp that is protesting against Scotland's most polluting site, INEOS Grangemouth.
Four activists kayaked into the water beneath the oil terminal at Hound Point and held banners reading and "Resist and Renew". One person entered the terminal itself and held a banner reading "INEOS: profiting from poverty and pollution".
All four activists returned to land safely and there were no arrests.
The terminal connects directly to INEOS' oil refinery at Grangemouth, where the corporation also runs a power station and chemical works. INEOS' operations there created a staggering 2.4 million tonnes of annual emissions when last counted by SEPA (1) and the company is planning a new plant to manufacture hydrogen using fossil gas. (2)
The environmental protection agency has issued INEOS with multiple fines for safety breaches and premature deaths in Grangemouth town are significantly higher than the national average. (3) INEOS announced profits of £474 million in profit in 2022 at a time when residents living around the INEOS works struggled with spiralling food and gas bills. (4) Much of the companies profits will accure to Jim Ratcliffe, its main shareholder and one of the UK's richest people.
Douglas Renshaw, a website developer who took part in occupation, said:
"Hound Point Terminal is where INEOS exports oil out of the country making a fortune for its tax-cheating owner, Jim Ratcliffe yet from planet to people, no-one else benefits from this.
"The workers at Ineos don’t benefit: they’re hammered with strike-bans, pay-freezes and scrapped pensions.
"The communities of Grangemouth don’t benefit: they’ve been sacrificed for the frontline of Scotland’s biggest source of CO2 emissions.
"Our lands and seas don’t benefit: they are polluted by Ineos’s plastic and emissions.
"The climate and energy crisis are already hitting us hard. We have to work together across all communities for a better future."
Dr Mairi Spanswick, a doctor who took part in the occupation, said:
"If we don’t change business as usual, we will need three planet earths to sustain our lives by 2050. And we’re living on a dying planet. People and habitats are dying now due to emissions from companies like INEOS. Jim Ratcliffe, majority owner of Ineos, lives in a tax haven in Monaco and his house in England sits on stilts to protect from emissions-driven flood risk. Yet he isn’t interested in our energy security, with 80% of our North Sea oil exported, and he’s blatantly not interested in the people of Grangemouth, where this billionaire’s profits are made in one of the most deprived areas in Scotland.
"We have a moral duty to call out profit from genocide and ecocide. As a Doctor, I have a duty to protect health and climate catastrophe is the biggest risk to planetary and human health.
Last month INEOS refused to participate in a Parliamentary inquiry about transition at Grangemouth (5). Climate camp organisers say that Grangemouth could be renewed with well-paid jobs in sustainable industries, but the shift must be led by people, not big business.
Climate Camp Grangemouth continues with a full programme of talks and workshops up until Monday and a 'day of resistance' against INEOS taking place on Saturday. (6) A photocall detailing how tomorrow's protests can be followed will be issued later today.
The camp is located 1 mile from the Kinneil Terminal at the Kinneil Estate. (7) The full programme is available online and everyone who is able is welcome to come on down to the camp. (6)
NOTES TO EDITORS
Free to use photos provided at link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DtdO5WcsgtS2QNtRqm_bUSssuuBpj-gn?usp=drive_link
And of the camp in general:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KG1UspbztIfMgBBLPpJ4_tEK7eEoNekX?usp=sharing
1. INEOS controls four sites in the top 20 climate polluters in Scotland, all in Grangemouth town: https://theferret.scot/rogues-gallery-climate-polluters-top-20-revealed/
2. INEOS plans to manufacture hydrogen using fossil fuels:
https://www.ineoshydrogen.com/ineos-hydrogen/grangemouth-project-acorn-blue-hydrogen
3. Recent safety issues at INEOS Grangemouth:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56999791
https://theferret.scot/crackdown-on-ineos-at-grangemout-to-prevent-multiple-fatalities/
Local health impacts, see page 9, Falkirk Council Report on Grangemouth town:
https://www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/people-communities/locality-planning/docs/Grangemouth%20Community%20Action%20Plan.pdf?v=202203160926
4. 'Billionaire Brexiter’s energy giant Ineos nets £474m profit thanks to soaring prices' - The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/21/billionaire-brexiters-energy-giant-ineos-nets-474m-profit-thanks-to-soaring-prices
5. Petrochemical giant Ineos snubs Scottish Government net zero committee refusing to 'go on the record' - Falkirk Herald
https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/environment/petrochemical-giant-ineos-snubs-scottish-government-net-zero-committee-refusing-to-go-on-the-record-4126406
6. Camp location:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/56.005852,+-3.633914?entry=tts&shorturl=1
How to get there:
https://www.climatecampscotland.com/post/climate-camp-grangemouth-welcome-to-kinneil-estate
7. Climate Camp programme and guide PDF: https://bit.ly/camp-guide-23