Extinction Rebellion environmental activists blockade Peterhead power station by chaining themselves to a washing machine

Climate activists blockaded the SSE gas power station in Peterhead on Thursday morning – with environmentalists chaining themselves to a washing machine to highlight “greenwashing” policies.

Starting at 6.10am, about 20 activists from Extinction Rebellion Scotland and Glasgow Calls Out Polluters blocked the entrance to the power station, preventing vehicle access to the site, with four activists locked-on to a green-painted washing machine and two red gas canisters.

The group is displaying a banner saying Clean Gas Is A Dirty Lie and have hung green clothes on a washing line, which include slogans like Cop26: Stop The Greenwash and Climate Inaction Kills.

Cathel Hutchison, from Glasgow Calls Out Polluters, said: “By sponsoring COP26 in Glasgow, SSE want you to think they are leading the charge into a renewable future.

“They are havering! SSE are not fit to be given a platform at COP26. That is why we support our friends at XR Scotland to call out SSE as the climate wreckers they truly are!”

The activists are also calling for a ‘Just Transition’ away from a fossil fuel based economy that does not abandon those who would be most affected by that shift.

Stuart Bretherton, 23, support worker and XR Scotland activist said: “Despite the UK Government’s rhetoric on new green jobs, companies like SSE continue to exploit cheap overseas labour.

Climate activists got creative in their efforts to blockade Peterhead power station.

“The Government need to ramp up the pressure on companies like SSE to end fossil fuel extraction and deliver a just transition for the sake of the local workforce.”

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