Climate campaigners staged a Halloween-themed protest outside Bute House in Edinburgh on Saturday, objecting to the Scottish Government's approval of a new gas-fired power station at Peterhead in Aberdeenshire. Protesters wore Halloween masks and carried placards reading "fossil fuel ghouls" and "this decision will haunt you", with some sitting on the steps of the First Minister's official residence.

Why campaigners object

Friends of the Earth Scotland described the approval as a "catastrophic failure" to protect people from climate breakdown and rising household energy bills. Its head of movement building, Kate Whitaker, said fossil fuels are frightening because of the harm they are already causing to millions of people. The group said the new plant, developed by SSE Thermal and Equinor, could burn gas for decades, and noted that no working carbon-capture transport and storage network yet exists in Scotland.

What the government says

A Scottish Government spokesperson said ministers remain unwavering in their commitment to tackling climate change and delivering action towards net zero by 2045, and that the full grounds for the decision are set out in the decision letter. The approval, granted this week for a 900-megawatt plant with carbon capture, followed the UK Government's go-ahead for the Jackdaw gas field near Aberdeen, which campaigners also criticised.