Furious climate activists flocked to the UK Government building in Edinburgh on Thursday after regulators approved the development of a gas field in the North Sea.
Announced on Wednesday, Jackdaw field, off the coast of Aberdeen, will be capable of producing 6.5 percent of the UK’s gas output.
But the angry crowd opposed the move, believing it will put the future of the planet at risk.
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Upon hearing of the field’s approval, the capital-based activists sprang into action to organise the protest.
A large yellow banner was unfurled by the angry crowd, which read: “Clean gas is a dirty lie.”
Lucy Walczuk, one of the senior figures at Fridays for Future Edinburgh, felt that a sense of urgency was important in order to make a statement.
“We were expecting the announcement soon, so we’ve been preparing ahead of time,” they said.
“We want to effectively express that anger and annoyance at the failure of the UK Government. We got the details for the protest together in two or three hours and then invited as many people as possible.
“We organised this 18 hours ago and we got this many people to come through. I think it really shows how strongly people feel about this and how wrong a decision it is.”
The crowd gathered at 1pm outside Queen Elizabeth House, armed with signs and banners decorated with colourful messages.
One depicted Boris Johnson with his arms wrapped around a lump of coal, reading: “It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your coal.”
While dominated by younger faces, there was a noticeable older contingent parked outside the Government building.
Penny Gower, a 72-year-old who works at Edinburgh College, expressed her worries about the future of young grandchildren.
“I look at my three little granddaughters, two babies and a seven-year-old, and I think what kind of life are they going to have? Climate crisis and chaos is likely to happen within the next ten years. Politicians are ignoring it.”
Multiple speeches took place at the event, with disgruntled speakers explaining their concerns over the now-approved gas field.
There was even a musical performance from 46-year old Majk Stokes, who sang that the government need to “smell the coffee” when it comes to the climate.
Some protestors also jumped into a performance of the Macarena in between messages from the key speakers.
Demonstrators also hurled red paint at the building as emotions over the decision to develop the gas field ran high.
Those who back the development have cited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a key reason behind the need for further gas supplies.
Bryce Goodall, one of the protestors who addressed the crowd, said the group stand in solidarity with Ukraine, but still ask more from the UK Government.
“It’s a global issue. If we can stop all oil fields in the UK and move away from fossil fuels, we wouldn’t need to be dependant on any country, including Russia. We can make that transition with our reserves right now.
“What we need is political willingness. Unfortunately, the Tory government is showing abject and inept leadership on this.”
Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the Government was “turbocharging” renewables.
He added: “Let’s source more of the gas we need from British waters to protect energy security."
A UK Government spokesperson said: “There will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas over the coming years as we transition to cleaner, lower carbon energy – this ensures we protect British energy security, jobs and industries, without becoming more dependent on foreign imports.
“The North Sea Transition Authority has granted consent to the Jackdaw project, boosting domestic gas supply in the years to come. This was on the basis of the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment & Decommissioning (OPRED) considering the environmental statement of the project and concluding that it will not have a significant effect on the environment.”
