A mass walk-out, led by the climate activist and author Mikaela Loach, was staged at Edinburgh international book festival over its fossil fuel links.
In a scene which went viral across Instagram, Loach accused the event’s sponsor Baillie Gifford of “bankrolling” the climate crisis.
It comes after 50 authors including Zadie Smith, Ali Smith and Jessie Berton and journalist Gary Younge sent an open letter calling on the festival to drop any sponsor which invests in fossil fuels.
The Edinburgh-based investment firm has also backed several other literary festivals including Hay and Cheltenham.
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The backlash follows an investigation by Scottish investigative journalism platform The Ferret which showed that the firm had invested £5 billion invested in companies which made money from oil, coal or gas sectors at the end of 2022.
Also among those who walked out was Katherine Rundell, who last year won the prestigious Ballie Gifford non-fiction prize.
Speaking on the stage ahead of the walkout Loach said: “I can’t actually in good faith keep talking about this issue without doing something, especially given that the festival is sponsored by a firm that is bankrolling this climate crisis”.
“Baillie Gifford are an investment firm that have £5 billion of investments in the fossil fuel industry. Edinburgh book festival, you wouldn’t burn books, so why are you burning the planet? Drop Baillie Gifford,” she said.
Earlier this month Greta Thunberg also cancelled her scheduled appearance at the festival accusing it of greenwashing over the Baillie Gifford link, accusing it of “greenwashing”.
“As a climate activist I cannot attend an event which receives sponsorship from Baillie Gifford, who invest heavily in the fossil fuel industry,” she said in a statement at the time.
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The actions of these young female writers and others is a huge inspiration. Culture has such a big role to play in helping us through this crisis but those with vested interests who have been defending Baillie Gifford really need to grasp the reality of what we face.