Hail to the dockworkers! A Tale of Three Tankers – The Economic War, part 2

You can track them still on MarineTraffic.com … the MV Seacod, the MV Boris Vilkitsky and the MV Pearl. Three ghost ships of the energy system, the spirits of the Economic War. All three of these vessels broke out of the fog that normally swathes the constant trade in oil...

The Guns of Economic War – unpicking the decisions by BP to sell out of Russia

Far from the terrifying realities of the shelling of civilians in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities, far from the desperation of women and children trying to board trains for Poland, far from the sickening din of armour in the streets, the guns the economic war are firing. The bravery...

Fuel poverty and Shell profits – who possesses the gas system?

Standing in the front benches of the Opposition in the House of Commons, Rachel Reeves, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, declared “Citizens Advice have said they have seen a record number of people in January … Only today Shell announced that their profits had quadrupled to 20 billion dollars. They...

Ukraine & the grip of gas – caught in the machine of Crude Britannia

The newsfeeds hiss and rumble with stories of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. We are all of us left waiting. Is this truly going to happen, a military conflict between Russia and NATO? Or is this a fevered concoction that aids the Kremlin, the US Administration, and the UK’s...

Cambo & Viking Energy – the common wealth of wind in Shetland

In July 1881 a fleet of Sixareen boats were working the haaf fishing grounds 30 or more miles West of Shetland in the vast North Atlantic. Each craft twenty foot long, hand built from wood, with a crew of seven men fishing for Cod and Ling. This valuable catch was...

Cambo, a turning point for the North Sea? – Shell departs and leaves many questions

Seven twenty in the evening of Thursday 2nd December the news breaks[1]: Shell announces that they are withdrawing from their joint venture with the company Siccar Point that intends to exploit oil in the Cambo field West of Shetland. The announcement is as dramatic as it is unexpected. That...

Platform is recruiting!

Platform is looking for a Communications Manager Communications Manager is a new role in Platform. You will lead our organisation’s comms across all platforms including digital and press, helping us develop sharp messaging, a strong online presence and effective communication systems. You will work closely with project staff to create...

From Oil Road to Fire Road – of oil pipelines, gas pipelines and climate chaos

Authored by James Marriott of Platform drawing on the collective experience of so many others in Platform and the multiple organisations we’ve collaborated with. Prompted by an invitation from the Climate Cultures Festival in Berlin to speak about Crude Britannia and The Oil Road, co-authored with Mika Minio-Paluello, I returned...

Just Transition in Glasgow – now is the time for ‘For’ and ‘Against’

“We need a massive programme of retrofitting homes”. Francis Stuart of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is outlining his understanding of the social project that needs to take place, the transformation of pretty much the entirety of the housing stock of Scotland – and indeed the UK. Stuart...

The Open Wound – keeping eyes on the constant injustice of oil production in Nigeria

26th Anniversary of the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 Ogoni comrades Authored by James Marriott of Platform drawing from the collective experience of so many others in Platform and the multiple organisations we’ve collaborated with. On the morning of 10th November 1995 in a Port Harcourt...

How to Capture the Future and Store Capital – the plans for CCS in Liverpool Bay

You can see the future from Formby Beach. You don’t even need to climb up on one of steep sand dunes to catch a glimpse of it. It is out there yellow and white lights blinking in the grey dusk away to the North West. It has supplanted the red...

Workers Case Studies for debate on The Need for an Offshore Training Passport

Ahead of the Scottish Parliament debate on The Need for An Offshore Training Passport, Platform and Friends of the Earth Scotland shared case studies from offshore workers about their experiences with training in the energy sector, the enormous personal expense in time and money as well as the barriers this represents to efforts to transition […]

Offshore Training Passport Debate Briefing for MSPs

A Platform and Friends of the Earth briefing for MSPs ahead of a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the need for an Offshore Training Passport. Friends of the Earth Scotland and Platform believe an Offshore Training Passport is essential to ensure a Just Transition for workers in the energy sector. The lack of cross-sector […]

What the Gas Price hike means – the Tales of Two Cities

Hot on the heels of the Petrol Panic comes the Gas Price Panic and the Electricity Price Panic – my head spins as I try to take in each of these fossil fuel driven convulsions. It is worth the effort to unpick this ball of yarn and lay out the...

Petrol Panic II – taking on the barriers to climate action

Week two of the Petrol Panic – Monday 4th October. It looks like the pumps are working as normal in the BP petrol station at 232 Priory Road in Anfield, Liverpool, fed by road tankers filled at the gantries of Stanlow Refinery, 12 miles to south on the banks of...

Profiting from the Panic – how to use a squeeze in the oil flow to financial advantage

Petrol Panic grips the nation. A second week of fuel shortages on the forecourts threatens to hobble the economy, or at least erode support for the Tories in their heartlands and overshadow the Conservative Party Conference. Will queues at the petrol pumps in Manchester crowd the prime minister’s show? The...

‘Much More than a Road’ – battling another motorway in Crude Britannia

Another consultation document to go through. Another online form. Another swamp of documents. They are drowning us in data. This is the Community Impacts Consultation for the Lower Thames Crossing issued by the UK government agency, National Highways (formerly Highways England). Again and again we go over the same ground....

Training costs: a barrier to transition for offshore workers

In September 2020, Platform released a report, OFFSHORE: Oil and gas workers’ views on industry conditions and the energy transition, in collaboration with Friends of the Earth Scotland and Greenpeace UK. The report was the culmination of the first large-scale survey of offshore oil and gas workers in the UK,...

PRESS RELEASE Training costs chaos blocks oil workers moving to renewables: Government must meet workers’ demands to remove hurdles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TRAINING COSTS CHAOS BLOCKS OIL WORKERS MOVING TO RENEWABLES: GOVERNMENT MUST MEET WORKERS’ DEMANDS TO REMOVE HURDLES Survey of offshore workers reveals training costs averaging over £1,800 per year. Success of the UK’s transition to renewables currently depends on workers’ ability to pay to duplicate...

Petition for a Just Transition in the North Sea

Platform’s Just Transition campaign seeks a well-managed phase out of oil and gas production in the North Sea. This includes preventing future oil and gas licensing rounds, halting fossil fuel subsidies, and most importantly, ensuring that Just Transition measures are implemented during the phase out (i.e. large-scale job creation, re-training...

Participatory policies for a fairer and greener London

The London Leap project is releasing a short report called “Participatory policies for a fairer and greener London”. This report has been collaboratively produced through our work with Leap participants over the past 18 months, and with Harpreet Kaur Paul who has been crucial in helping bring together the incredible...

Divesting to protect our pensions and the planet

A report published by Platform, Friends of the Earth Scotland and Friends of the Earth England Wales and Northern Ireland, analyses local government investments in coal, oil and gas. You can read more about our divest work by visiting: https://www.divest.org.uk/

Taking Control: Building oil and gas workers’ power in the energy transition

Do you work in the offshore oil and gas industry? Have you worked in the industry in the past? Join our workshops to determine what a just energy transition looks like and learn how we can fight for our demands. First workshop: Saturday 13 March 2021 10:00am – 1:00pm over...

25 Years On – Healing Separation, Mobilising Desire

Next month marks 25 years since the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 9. Across Nigeria and the wider environmental justice movement, the legacy and story of the lives lost in the defense of the land and communities could not be more poignant. Now more than ever we are...

Crises, North Sea Oil and Covid-19

Last month I spoke on behalf of Platform at an online event on the theme of ‘People Over Profit and Covid-19’ organised by our collaborators Kate and Ryan at Friends of the Earth Scotland. It was a really engaging event with two other speakers followed by breakout groups and a...

The story of Platform

Want to tell someone about Platform, in a nutshell? Try this video made for precisely that purpose!

Vacancies

Platform is recruiting for a Communications Manager Please note due to COVID-19 the interviews will take place online via Zoom. Platform is looking for a Communications Manager Communications Manager is a new role in Platform. You will lead our organisation’s comms across all platforms including digital and press, helping us develop sharp messaging, a strong […]

Fighting to keep fossil gas in the ground

This project is part of Platform’s long-term commitment to support environmental justice struggles at the front lines of oil and gas drilling internationally. BP does not carry out fracking in the UK where it is headquartered, because “it would attract the wrong kind of attention”. But BP, Shell and a...

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You can help us change the world Platform’s work involves taking risks that many others won’t. Sending staff to Egypt as the revolution was unfolding, challenging structural issues like colonialism and race oppression, and proposing visions of energy democracy. By joining our base of Platform Sustainers, you can help us...

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