Activists storm Bath energy firm's HQ
Andrew Mercer is building a carbon-free house in Bathampton, drives a car that runs on recycled vegetable fuel, and set up his company Blue-NG with a view to generating energy in an eco-friendly way.
But that didn’t stop climate change activists from marching into his company’s offices in Ralph Allen House in Railway Place yesterday and berating staff.
Thirteen members of Action Against Agrofuels entered the building and attempted to persuade members of staff that the work Blue-NG does is harming the planet.
The campaigners say Blue-NG is planning to build the UK's first biofuel power plants.
Banners were draped from the building and a number of the activists climbed onto the roof of the building.
The campaigners allege that Blue-NG is planning eight power plants which would run on virgin vegetable oil. The activists claim that such power plants will significantly boost the UK's imports of palm oil, which is linked to deforestation and the displacement of rural communities.
Police were called to the building at 11.40am but officers left by 1pm after staff at Blue-NG said they were happy for the protesters to stay in the office.
The protest - which included a man dressed in a gorilla outfit - spilled over into the adjacent Bath Spa Railway Station.
A statement by Action Against Agrofuels said: "Blue NG speaks about using rapeseed oil but has failed to rule out using palm oil."
Jess Leeds from the group said: “Hundreds of civil society groups, many scientists and institutions have warned that biofuels are causing more deforestation, more climate change, more people going hungry and more people being evicted from their land.
"Yet Blue-NG wants to open up a vast new market for vegetable oil in a country which already uses far more than it can produce, making a bad situation even worse.”
The climate change protesters say Blue-NG has been granted planning permission to build its first plant in Beckton in East London and has recently applied for a second one in Southall, West London.
But a spokesman for BlueNG said the protesters were wide of the mark.
“The company was actually in the process of writing a letter to this group because we understand some of their concerns about biofuels, so we have invited them in for discussions. So this protest is very disappointing,” he said.
"We have tried to engage with them over their concerns about biofuels in general. What they have failed to understand is that they are accusing us of planning all sorts of things that we are not going to do. We are a totally green company.
"Our offices are next to the railway station and bus station deliberately to encourage people to use public transport. We only have four car parking spaces and our chief executive, Andrew Mercer, has a car which runs on recycled vegetable fuel. He is building a carbon free house in Bathampton.
"With regards to the biofuel plants in London we have given ourselves green handcuffs and said to the planning authority in London that if we can’t show you we are a totally green company, you can shut us down. We only use vegetable oil from a sustainable source.”
On its website, Blue NG emphasises its green credentials. It says the company was founded “to fight climate change by utilising the sustainable energy potential of gas pressure reduction stations".
The protesters left the building peacefully at 3.15pm.
Comment on this story