We will not be lured underwater by the fossil fuel industry and the Scottish government’s refusal to stand up to it.
Two people from This is Rigged climbed to the top of Andy Scott’s The Kelpies, a 30-metre sculpture located between Grangemouth and Falkirk. They displayed a banner with ‘This is Rigged’ printed on it.
Due to the climate crisis, The Kelpies itself will face severe flooding, along with the rest of Grangemouth, with the site under the projected annual flood level by 2030.
Lewis, a 22-year-old software developer, who scaled The Kelpies said:
In Scottish folklore, kelpies are water spirits which lure people to a watery grave. As the Scottish government continues to allow oil and gas licences to go ahead in Scotland, they’re leading us to the same fate. The land on which the kelpies were built will be submerged underwater by 2050. Isn’t this a bit ironic?
Hannah, 22, a masters student, said:
The Kelpies is a monument to the horses and the people who’ve worked to develop our industry and agriculture to where it is today, yet the Scottish government is now leaving our oil workers without support for a fair transition to renewables. This means unemployment, insecurity and exploitation for workers as well as fossil-fueled climate collapse. Horses powered our past and renewables power our future. Continuing fossil fuel extraction will power nothing but our death.