Young people and scientists hold Shell protest inside Science Museum

Source: UK Student Climate Network London

More than 20 young people and scientists from youth climate strike organisers UKSCN London and Scientists for Extinction Rebellion are protesting inside the Science Museum all afternoon, over oil firm Shell’s sponsorship of its climate exhibition ‘Our Future Planet’. They are running a 24-hour live stream. Full lineup here.

The young people and scientists have joined forces to “reclaim” the Science Museum from Shell sponsorship. The live stream - a direct response to the museum’s own series of ‘Climate Talks’ - will instead feature a diverse array of nearly 40 speakers including frontline activists from around the world, international climate campaigners, scientists, and contributors to the exhibition who are unhappy that they were not informed about Shell’s involvement. During the afternoon, the group will make and display new placards that protest the inclusion of placards within the Shell-sponsored exhibition from the London youth strikes in March 2019 that were put on display without the strike organisers’ knowledge or consent.

The protesters are targeting Shell’s sponsorship of the Science Museum’s new exhibition on climate change and carbon capture, ‘Our Future Planet’, which they believe is giving the company the opportunity to present itself as embracing climate solutions, when in reality it plans to continue extracting oil and gas way beyond safe climate limits.

The action follows an open letter from UKSCN London to the Science Museum demanding that it drops Shell sponsorship, which was signed by 200 young activists, scientists, organisations and frontline groups and the launch of a boycott of the exhibition, which has already logged over 5,800 boycott pledges. Both UKSCN and Scientists for XR held protests in the opening week of the exhibition, with the scientists locking themselves to the Shell-sponsored exhibit for several hours.