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The London Science Museum has cut ties with oil giant Equinor after it was revealed the museum had voiced concerns over the energy giant's decarbonisation efforts
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 16 Jul 2024
Culture Unstained is among the groups that have protested the Science Museum’s links to fossil fuel sponsors including Equinor Credit: Culture Unstained
The London Science Museum has ended a controversial long-term partnership with sponsor Equinor over the oil giant’s failures to improve its environmental efforts.
Equinor has sponsored the museum’s WonderLab exhibition since 2016. But ties have been cut after the museum said the Norwegian state-owned energy company had failed to lower carbon emissions sufficiently to ensure it was aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
The museum has come under repeated fire from climate protestors such as Extinction Rebellion and Culture Unstained for its ties with fossil fuels, with the museum arguing that the sponsorship was achieving “public good”.
The terms of the agreement itself also came under fire, after it emerged that a gagging clause meant that staff could not say anything that could be seen as “discrediting or damaging the goodwill or reputation” of Equinor.
According to the Observer, emails disclosed under Freedom of Information legislation revealed that Science Museum director Sir Ian Blatchford told Equinor that the company was in breach of the museum’s pledge to ensure its sponsors complied with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
In a statement, the Science Museum confirmed that Equinor’s sponsorship had “drawn to a close at the end of their current contract term”.
A museum spokesperson added: “The partnership concludes with our warm appreciation and with our ongoing encouragement to Equinor to continue to raise the bar in their efforts to put in place emissions reduction targets aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.”
While it has cut ties with Equinor, the museum still has sponsors including BP and Adani, who continue to invest in oil, gas and coal projects. The museum argues that its Adani sponsorship is solely with Adani Green Energy, a renewables-focused subsidiary of the fossil fuel giant. The museum also says it retains “editorial control” over its exhibits.
“This is a seismic shift. After years of mounting pressure, the Science Museum has now adopted red lines on climate change which have led to Equinor being dropped,” said Chris Garrard, co-director of Culture Unstained.
“With BP also failing to align its business with Paris Agreement goals and Adani the world’s biggest private producer of coal, the museum must now hold these companies to the same standard and stop promoting their toxic brands.”
Last year, shortly after leaving her own trial following her arrest during an anti-oil protest, famed climate campaigner Greta Thunberg appeared at the museum to protest its ties to fossil fuel companies. Unveiling banners predicting “2024, more droughts and floods - fuelled by Science Museum oil and gas sponsors”, Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion protesters interrupted a panel talk at the museum about scientific predictions for the coming year. During the panel session, the conversation turned to climate change, with the audience challenging the presenter and panel over the museum’s fossil fuel sponsorship.
STEM
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