Eco warriors are set to target Scotland’s biggest fuel depot in a move which could see pumps run dry across the country.
The climate campaigners are planning to “target fossil fuel infrastructure” at Grangemouth in a “festival of resistance” against energy giant INEOS.
Hundreds of activists are planning a climate change camp teaching direct action techniques next week at the site near Falkirk - which supplies petrol to two-thirds of Scots forecourts.
And on Saturday of next week they plan a day of “direct action” aimed at halting fuel supplies getting out from the site.
Organisers hope a blockade will have the same impact as a truckers’ blockade in 2000 which led to fuel shortages in forecourts across Scotland.
David Lonsdale of the Scottish Retail Consortium - whose members include supermarket forecourt operators like Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s - said firms would do “everything they can to minimise any potential short-term impact on supplies of fuel”.
But he added: “Any actions by a small minority to disrupt supplies to forecourts would be deeply regrettable.”
The Climate Camp Grangemouth event - branded by organisers its “biggest ever” camp - aims to pile pressure on controversial billionaire INEOS owner Jim Ratcliffe.
Its website accuses Ratcliffe of “stashing record profits in a tax haven while the community here is blighted by pollution and struggling with food and gas bills, and spiralling climate emissions take more and more lives”.
A Facebook page for the camp, promoted by the group Extinction Rebellion which has caused massively disruptive protests in England, promises it will involve “direct action and training, targeting fossil fuel infrastructure”.
It says the event is “inspired” by the Ende Gelande activist group in Germany which has occupied coal mines and blockaded a gas plant.
An official handbook for Climate Camp Grangemouth, circulated among those attending, states: “The camp may include opportunities to take part in mass direct action and we hope that everyone who can participate will feel empowered to do so, whether directly or in support roles.”
The handbook also contains advice not to speak to police and how to obtain legal representation if needed.
The promise of “mass direct action” during a five-day camp next week has raised fears of a blockade such as those seen in 2000 which brought the country to its knees.
Furious protests by truckers and farmers over petrol prices, including at the Grangemouth depot, eventually saw the Army intervene as fuel supplies ran dry.
It comes as eco warriors have vowed to “shut down” the fossil fuel industry, with climate activists This is Rigged threatening a “blockade on oil and gas infrastructure”.
The exact location of the five-day camp will be revealed to activists ahead of its launch next Wednesday.
A slate of events over the week includes speeches from anti-fossil fuel campaigners from Ukraine and Ecuador.
On Thursday and Friday next week there will be direct action training sessions - with the camp culminating in a “day of resistance” on Saturday expected to see large-scale disruptive protests.
The Daily Record asked Climate Camp Grangemouth what the nature of the mass action would be and if it would involve a blockade at Grangemouth.
A spokesperson for Climate Camp Grangemouth told the Record: “Climate Camp Grangemouth is an opportunity for locals, workers and climate activists to come together and work toward a future that doesn’t rely on exploitation of the community, nor destruction of our climate.
“INEOS is making huge profits from running its plant at Grangemouth - Scotland’s worst-polluting - and the move away from this needs to be led by those whose lives and health have been risked for decades.
“The camp will be an open, friendly space for people with many different life-stories to learn from each other and feel empowered.”
Police Scotland said they were aware of the event, with Superintendent Steven Irvine adding: “A comprehensive policing plan will be in place to ensure public safety, enable peaceful protest and to minimise disruption to the wider community.”
Grangemouth emitted a whopping 2.75million tons of CO2 in 2020 - although INEOS claims it has slashed emissions by more than a third since 2005.
Climate groups around the UK have been ramping up action and civil disobedience - with Just Stop Oil recently disrupting both The Ashes and Wimbledon.
The organisation has also caused traffic chaos in London by blocking roads.
They have been widely criticised over the disruption and inconvenience caused by their activities.
But supporters such as wildlife presenter Chris Packham have defended the actions as necessary to grab people’s attention and drive climate action.
INEOS have been approached for comment about next week’s protests.
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