CLIMATE change activists have erected a 13-foot model of an oil rig in order to block the entrance to a maintenance facility in the Highlands.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) Scotland members began their protest at the facility at the Invergordon Service Base of the Cromarty Firth Port Authority at dawn today.

The group placed the oil rig model, made from scrap materials with a banner saying “decommission me now,” on the road, while four people locked themselves on to prop oil barrels on the route to block traffic.

Activists also unfurled a banner stating “climate emergency” and others held signs saying “no future in fossil fuels.”

The group are calling for an end to fossil fuel extraction and want to see support for a transition of skilled oil and gas workers into decommissioning and renewable industries, not new oil fields.

In a statement published today, they said: “At dawn, we blockaded an oil maintenance facility because the science is clear.

“We are in a climate emergency and to tackle it there is no future in fossil fuels. We need to act now.”

John Lardner, 69, XR Scotland activist, said: “The Chatham House report says that even if the Paris Agreement carbon emissions were achieved, we have almost no chance of staying below pre-industrial levels of warming. We have to act now.

“Our carbon budget is empty. We have no option.”

However, XR came into criticism for the action, with many claiming that the move was counterproductive as the protest could hinder ongoing decommissioning work at the North Sea site. 

Magnus Davidson, a research associate with the University of the Highlands and Islands Environmental Research Institute, wrote on social media that the targeted site at the Cromarty Firth is the best example in Scotland of a “private and public funded transition of skilled oil and gas workers into decommissioning and renewable industries.”

The protesters said that they plan to stay at the site for most of the working day, but that the action would be more of an inconvenience than disruptive. 

A Cromarty Firth Port Authority spokesman said that the group was on the site, adding: “The port’s priority is for the health and safety of all individuals at our facilities, including our staff, port users, the local community and the protester representatives.”

A Police Scotland spokesman confirmed that officers were in attendance.