Climate change activists protest inside London's Science Museum over fossil fuel sponsorship
Climate activists including school pupils, university students and scientists camped in the lobby of London's Science Museum to protest on behalf of "victims" of fossil fuel firms.
Wednesday 27 October 2021 12:58, UK
Young climate activists who held a protest inside London's Science Museum overnight have said they will be approaching the day's first visitors to the tourist attraction to tell them about its sponsorship deals with fossil fuel companies.
The Science Museum sparked backlash last week when it announced a new gallery called Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery.
The display is being supported by a subsidiary of the Adani Group, which is a multinational conglomerate that is involved in coal extraction and coal-fired power stations.
The protest also comes after the museum in South Kensington, central London, also recently faced criticism for its partnership with Shell to fund its Our Future Planet exhibition about carbon capture and storage and nature-based solutions to the climate crisis.
Members of the London branch of the UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN London) held a candlelight vigil for "the victims of the museum's fossil fuel sponsors: Shell, BP, Equinor and Adani" on Tuesday night, before setting up camp and spending the night in the building's lobby.
The group included school pupils, university students and scientists.
The Metropolitan Police said officers attended the vigil last night and no arrests were made.
Dr Alexander Penson, a biologist who took part in the sit-in, described the partnerships as "appalling".
He said during an Instagram Live video by UKSCN London from inside the museum: "The way that they tell it is that they are working with the green energy arm of the company and they then just forget about the coal.
"We can all agree that we need new green infrastructure, that we need green jobs... but you can't just then forget about the dirty infrastructure that we need to retire."
The group also posted pictures on social media overnight of some of the members making origami shells in the early hours, as well as a picture of activists sleeping at 3.30am.
Earlier in June this year, UKSCN activists also tried to spend the night in the museum in protest against the Shell sponsorship.
However, they were unable to carry out their plan after they were told by police officers they could face arrest.
The group also previously staged demonstrations outside the Science Museum, along with activists from environmental movement Extinction Rebellion.
Sky News has contacted the Science Museum for comment.
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In a press release that announced the new Energy Revolution gallery, which is set to open in 2023, the museum said it will examine "how the world can undergo the fastest energy transition in history to curb climate change".
Dame Mary Archer, chair of the Science Museum Group, added: "We're hugely grateful to Adani Green Energy for the significant financial support they are providing for this gallery."