An author walked out of her event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival due to concerns about the sponsor Baillie Gifford and its alleged links to the fossil fuel industry.
It came after climate activist Greta Thunberg pulled out of the same event after she accused the investment company of greenwashing in its sponsorship of the cultural event.
During her own event at the festival, author Mikaela Loach accused Baillie Gifford of “bankrolling the climate crisis”.
She also accused the investment firm of investing £5mn in the fossil fuel industry.
She was joined on stage by two other authors, Jess Johannesson and Mohammed Tonsy who held a sign saying “you wouldn’t burn books, so why are you burning the planet, drop Baillie Gifford”.
Loach said finance has got to be removed from fossil fuel companies to curb the climate crisis.
She added: “We’ve got to remove that finance from them with any tactic that we can, we have to stop them from being able to exist.”.
The author's event on Saturday evening (August 13) was to discuss her book, Changing the Climate Narrative.
Her speech was followed by the audience at the book festival chanting "hey hey, ho ho, Baillie Gifford has got to go" before the walk out of the event, led by Loach.
Baillie Gifford did not wish to comment on the latest upset at the book festival but in a previous statement claimed it only invests 2 per cent of its clients’ money in businesses related to fossil fuels - it said this is less than other companies.
The company, which has been involved with the book festival for 19 years, added: “We believe in open debate and discussion which is why we are long-term supporters of the Edinburgh International Book Festival.”
When Thunberg dropped out of the festival, director Nick Barley said he thought Baillie Gifford could be "part of the solution to the climate emergency".
He said: "As a charitable organisation, we would not be in a position to provide that platform without the long-term support of organisations such as Baillie Gifford."
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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