Dear Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC),

We are writing as members of the climate justice movement to ask that you no longer host events for the Scottish Energy Forum (SEF) or any other such events which provide a space for organisations, networks and/or companies that push for the continued expansion of fossil fuels.

We are concerned by EICC’s track record of hosting events with clear links to a continued drive for fossil fuel expansion. In February 2022, EICC hosted Scottish Energy Forum’s (SEF) Annual Dinner and despite mobilisations from across Scotland’s climate justice movement, EICC will again host the SEF annual dinner 2023 in the coming weeks.

While the SEF claims to be a forum for all forms of energy, in reality it allows oil and gas companies to appear green whilst continuing to invest in projects that would deny us a safe future, with members including Equinor UK Ltd, which has plans to drill the biggest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea, Rosebank. If Rosebank went ahead, it would create more CO2 emissions than those created annually by the 28 lowest-income countries combined. Members also include Shell, BP, and CNOOC, all oil and gas giants who continue to push for new fossil fuel expansion.

The Scottish Energy Forum’s own website boasts that oil and gas major and SEF member CNOOC “is one of the largest oil producers in the UK North Sea, contributing more than 25% of the UK’s oil production”.

The evidence is clear that we cannot construct new fossil fuel infrastructure if we are to achieve the Paris Agreement's target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. The IPCC says that we must decrease global emissions by approximately 43% by 2030 in order to restrict global heating to 1.5 degrees, and that just burning the reserves from existing fossil fuel infrastructure would likely push us past that target.

By hosting such events as the SEF annual dinner, the EICC contributes to upholding the social licence and validity of fossil fuel companies by allowing them a space to collaborate on their plans to push us past safe climate limits. Therefore, we call on EICC to halt all future plans to host events with ties to fossil fuel companies.

Whilst families in Edinburgh face unprecedented hikes in energy and gas bills, and thousands struggle with inflation, it is disappointing to see oil and gas executives partying and celebrating their record profits in one of Edinburgh’s most respected venues. It is a betrayal to families who are being forced to make the impossible choice between heating and eating this winter. By disallowing organisations like the SEF to host their ‘celebration’ events within your space and by publicly distancing yourself from them, you would be taking the lead within the event space industry and signalling that you value people and the planet.

Furthermore, the EICC is a subsidiary of CEC Holdings Limited, which is in turn a subsidiary of the City of Edinburgh Council. The City of Edinburgh Council has a target of Edinburgh becoming a net zero city by 2030. We argue that hosting events which validate fossil fuel expansion are out of step with The City of Edinburgh Council’s climate commitments.

We urgently need to transition to an energy system powered by clean, affordable renewable energy and which prioritises energy efficiency. The first steps towards this future are to stop ploughing public money into new oil and gas infrastructure and to stop publicly supporting climate-wrecking oil and gas giants.

Everyone has an important role to play in the fight against no new oil and gas - and organisations like yours have a moral obligation to support public interests and protect our planet. We hope that you will share our vision of a safe, liveable future where people will continue to enjoy events at the EICC for a long time to come.

We ask you as leadership of the EICC, and councillor trustees, to do the right thing by no longer hosting these events and by providing a public statement explaining this decision.        

Thank you for your time in reading this letter.