MORE than 100 people gathered at Mossmorran on Sunday as part of a Climate Camp Scotland protest.

Politicians, campaigners and members of the public took part in a demonstration at the site where ExxonMobil operate the Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP) and Shell UK run the Fife NGL Plant.

Protesters called on the Scottish Government to start the transition away from fossil fuels, shut the plants down and create green jobs for impacted workers.

It formed part of Climate Camp Scotland’s Mossmorran Action Weekend of camping, discussions and workshops which was organised in collaboration with local group Actions Speak Louder Than Words.

It sought to unite communities who live in the shadow of the plant, workers and the climate movement, while exposing what they describe as “failures of the Scottish and UK governments to deliver” on their climate commitments in the run-up to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

Both companies were given final warnings by Sepa due to repeated incidents of unplanned flaring - the burning of excess gas - with the noise and light pollution and emissions causing a great deal of concern in the community.

Bryce Goodall, a local resident and Actions Speak Louder than Words campaigner, said it had been a “truly incredible” weekend.

“We have united people in our local community, from across Scotland, and internationally, in solidarity and support for climate justice,” he said.

“We listened to community concerns and empowered and skilled up our movement ready to mobilise further in achieving a just transition for the workers and communities around Mossmorran and internationally.”

Organisers say strict Covid-19 precautions were in place for the duration of the weekend with camp attendance capped to ensure social distancing and mask wearing was compulsory. Attendees were tested on arrival to the camp and before leaving to go to the Mossmorran protest.

ExxonMobil said climate change risks warrant action and the involvement of businesses, governments and consumers were required to make meaningful progress.

A spokesperson said: “Our focus includes reducing our emissions, helping consumers reduce their emissions and developing lower-emission energy solutions, including energy efficiency initiatives, biofuels, flare reduction and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

“In Scotland, we have signed a memorandum of understanding to participate in the Acorn CCS project, which plans to capture and store CO2 from gas terminals at St Fergus, including our Segal joint venture terminal which supplies feed gas to FEP.”

The spokesperson said independent analysis stretching back over three decades from SEPA and Fife Council had concluded that there were no local air quality issues associated with operations at Mossmorran.

“Furthermore, we are committed to making our operations much quieter and less visible through significant investment at FEP, including a recently-completed £140m plant upgrade, a 14-step flaring reduction plan and an investment in an enclosed ground flare, which alone will reduce elevated flaring by at least 98 per cent when it becomes operational next year,” he added.

“The Mossmorran facility is integral to Scotland’s energy supply, meeting the needs of communities nationwide. Furthermore, FEP directly supports the manufacturing supply chain for important products such as medical supplies, electric vehicle parts and food packaging.”