New Scientist Live festival pulls fossil fuel links

'How far we succeed in limiting climate change depends on dismantling fossil fuel industry influence in our politics and culture.’

by Rebecca Hardy 25th March 2022

A leading science festival appears to have cut ties with major oil and gas companies after years of opposition. This year’s New Scientist Live festival – which took place in Manchester last weekend – had no fossil fuel companies as sponsors or exhibitors. The move is understood to signal a shift in policy, after BP was also dropped as both a sponsor and speaker from a New Scientist Live online climate event last September when several scientists due to speak at the event withdrew in protest. The news comes just weeks after the National Portrait Gallery and Scottish Ballet announced the end of their partnerships with BP.