TWO Extinction Rebellion campaigners clamped themselves to the Scottish Parliament building today in protest at plans for a new carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility and gas-fired power plants in Peterhead.

As MSPs gathered at Holyrood for First Minister’s Questions, the protesters locked on to the building with bicycle locks, having mailed keys to First Minister John Swinney and Energy and Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin. 

Extinction Rebellion spokesman John Hardy condemned the plans, which researchers at Carbon Tracker have warned would create five times the emissions claimed by developers SSE and Equinor.

He said: “Our protest at the Scottish Parliament is about calling for meaningful action against the climate crisis.

“CCS  is not the solution it’s made out to be, it is a lifeline for oil and gas companies who wish to continue extracting fossil fuels while cloaking themselves in the illusion of environmental responsibility.”

Using First Minister’s Questions to call for reassessment of the plans, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie warned: “Ministers may be breaking the law if they sign-off this reckless fossil fuel development.”

Mr Swinney, however, declined to comment on a “live planning application.”