Campaigners locked themselves to the Scottish Parliament building.

Two people have been charged by police after locking themselves to the Scottish Parliament and sending the keys to John Swinney to unlock them.

Extinction Rebellion Scotland launched the demonstration outside the Parliament building on Thursday in response to a planning application by SSE for a new power station at Peterhead.

Extinction Rebellion protesters have locked themselves to the Scottish Parliament | Extinction Rebellion

The campaigners have claimed the pollution each year from the proposed new facility could be five times worse than the developers have admitted.

The demonstrators locked themselves to the front of the Parliament, warning the Scottish Government “don’t lock us into fossil fuels”.

The keys had been sent to the First Minister, acting net zero secretary Gillian Martin and climate minister Alasdair Allan but it is understood the police had the keys and were able to unlock the protesters.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 11.40am on Thursday, 7 November 2024, we were made aware of a group of protestors on Horse Wynd, Edinburgh.

"Officers attended and two women aged 46 and 69 have been arrested and charged in connection. They have been released on an undertaking to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date.”

Campaigners have long-raised concerns about the reliance of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to meet climate goals, warning it has not yet been proven at commercial scale and is seen as a method to allow fossil fuels to keep being burnt.

John Hardy, speaking for Extinction Rebellion Scotland, said: “We cannot allow our future to be dictated by 'magical' technological fixes that merely prolong the fossil fuel era and distract from the urgent need for a rapid and just transition to renewable energy. We demand real solutions, not empty promises. Our lives depend on it."

SSE and Equinor say the new station, which would have a generating capacity of up to 910MW, would be equipped with carbon capture technology, capable of removing around 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions every year, allowing it to replace older, carbon-intensive generation on the electricity system, and back up renewable energy with “flexible, low-carbon” power.

At First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie called on Mr Swinney and his Government to use “the power to demand an new environmental impact assessment” for the proposals.

Mr Harvie called for the companies to “come clean” on their plans.

He said: “Last week the researchers at Carbon Tracker revealed that the emissions from this power station could be five times worse than the companies that would profit from it have admitted.

“The First Minister has the power to demand a new environmental impact assessment, to make sure these companies come clean about the pollution their scheme would cause. Will he do so, and does he accept that until he does, ministers may be breaking the law if they sign-off this reckless fossil fuel development?”

In response, Mr Swinney warned he would be “breaching the ministerial code” if he made “any detailed comments” about the live planning application. He stressed there would be “detailed scrutiny” of the plans.

“This Government takes incredibly seriously the obligations we have on tackling climate change,” he said.

Watch: Extinction Rebellion protesters lock themselves to Scottish Parliament

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