Youth climate activists from the UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN London) have occupied London’s Science Museum in protest at its sponsorship deals with fossil fuel companies. The group held a candlelight vigil on Tuesday evening for what they described as 'the victims of the museum’s fossil fuel sponsors: Shell, BP, Equinor and Adani'. They planned to stay overnight, sharing images of sleeping bags laid out in the Kensington building.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed officers were in attendance and that no arrests had been made. The protest follows the museum’s announcement of a new gallery, Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery, supported by a subsidiary of the Adani Group, a multinational conglomerate involved in coal extraction and coal-fired power stations.
Biologist Dr Alexander Penson, participating in the sit-in, criticised the museum for persisting with fossil fuel sponsorship and initiating a new relationship with Adani. In an Instagram Live video, he said: 'The way that they tell it is that they are working with the green energy arm of the company and they then just forget about the coal. ... you can’t just then forget about the dirty infrastructure that we need to retire.'
The museum has also faced criticism over its partnership with Shell for the Our Future Planet exhibition, which included a gagging clause preventing the museum from damaging Shell’s reputation. Ines, a 17-year-old UKSCN member, stated: 'We are less than a week away from the start of Cop26. Now is the time to abolish fossil fuel companies, not collaborate with them or invite them into our cultural spaces.'
The activists negotiated with museum staff to move from the second floor to the Energy Hall near the main entrance to ensure access to toilets overnight. The Science Museum defended its new gallery, saying it would examine 'how the world can undergo the fastest energy transition in history to curb climate change'. Dame Mary Archer, chair of the Science Museum Group, expressed gratitude to Adani for their financial support.
