Greta Thunberg pulls out of Edinburgh Book Festival over 'greenwashing'

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has pulled out of an appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival over its links to the fossil fuel industry.

She had been due to attend an event at the annual festival on 13 August.

But she said she would now not do so because the festival receives sponsorship from the Baillie Gifford investment firm.

She claimed Baillie Gifford "invests heavily in the fossil fuel industry".

Ms Thunberg accused the industry of "greenwashing" by sponsoring cultural events, and said she did not want to be associated with it.

She added: "Greenwashing efforts by the fossil fuel industry, including sponsorship of cultural events, allow them to keep the social license to continue operating.

"I cannot and do not want to be associated with events that accept this kind of sponsorship."

Baillie Gifford, which has sponsored the book festival for 19 years, said it was not a significant fossil fuel investor, with 2% of its clients' money invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels compared to a market average of 11%.

The Ferret news service reported last month that Baillie Gifford had billions invested in firms that profit from fossil fuels.

A spokesman for the firm said: "Of those companies, some have already moved most of their business away from fossil fuels, and many are helping to drive the transition to clean energy.

"Currently, 5% of our clients' money is invested in companies whose sole purpose is to develop clean energy solutions."

Ms Thunberg had been due to speak at an event called It's Not Too Late To Change The World at the Edinburgh Playhouse.

It would have been her first public appearance in Scotland since her visit to Glasgow during COP26 in 2021.

She had also been expected to discuss her activism and her book, The Climate Book, during the event.

Nick Barley, the director of the book festival, said he applauded Ms Thunberg for standing by her principles - but the festival had to also stand by its principles.

Mr Barley said: "The Book Festival exists to give a platform for debate and discussion around key issues affecting humanity today - including the climate emergency.

"We would not be in a position to provide that platform without the long-term support of organisations such as Baillie Gifford.

"We strongly believe that Baillie Gifford are part of the solution to the climate emergency. They are early investors in progressive climate positive companies, providing funds to help them grow".

He apologised to people who bought tickets for the event, who will be refunded in full, and "especially to the hundreds of young climate campaigners who we had invited to come along because of their hard work to change the system in Scotland".

Ms Thunberg began protesting about climate change outside Sweden's parliament in 2018 when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl, which inspired similar "school strikes" across Europe, the US and Australia.

She has frequently berated world leaders for what she believes is a lack of action over the climate emergency, and was detained by police in Germany earlier this year at a protest against coal.