Aberdeen Science Centre has renewed its sponsorship deal with Norwegian oil giant Equinor for another year, following a UK summer of consecutive record-breaking heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires, which scientists have confirmed are fuelled by climate change.

The museum announced the continuation of its seven-year partnership with Equinor hot on the heels of 10 days of blazes that tore through the Cairngorms National Park — the smoke visible from Aberdeen, nearly 60 miles away — and amid the oil giant’s development of two major North Sea drilling projects, Jackdaw and Rosebank.

Scottish Greens MSP for North East Scotland, Maggie Chapman said that Aberdeen Science Centre does very important work, “but this partnership shows how fossil fuel giants seek to buy social credibility while continuing to fuel the climate crisis.”

Jackdaw is a gas field located about 150 miles off the east coast of Aberdeen, while the Rosebank oil field lies around 80 miles north-west of Shetland. Equinor and Shell are in a joint partnership, called Adura, to develop both projects.

Proponents of Jackdaw and Rosebank say the projects will boost the UK’s energy resilience by increasing domestic production. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has not ruled out granting approval for the two projects, despite warnings from climate scientists across that country that it would fly in the face of scientific advice.

One analysis by Oxfam estimated that the anticipated millions of tonnes of carbon emissions from Jackdaw and Rosebank could cause over 65,000 heat deaths – equivalent to the population of nearby Inverness.

“Equinor [is] putting shareholders’ short term profits ahead of a liveable future for all of us,” Chapman said. “Given these plans, and recognising this summer’s unprecedented wildfires, it is vital that we question whether this is an appropriate sponsor for children’s science education,”

Green MSPs and councillors expressed concern last year over the oil giant’s £200,000 investment in pop-up science classrooms in communities across Shetland closest to the Rosebank oil field.

The Aberdeen Science Centre’s sponsorship arrangement with Equinor funds the development of new educational programmes, exhibits, and learning resources at the museum, alongside supporting its ongoing school and community engagement sessions for children and young adults across North East Scotland and further afield, according to the museum’s press release.

Campaigners fear the sponsorship may compromise the educational integrity of the science centre’s programmes, and send a message to children that the scientific community is not taking climate change seriously.

An Equinor spokesperson told DeSmog that the company does not have control over the content of programmes, materials, or exhibitions that it sponsors at Aberdeen Science Centre. The spokesperson also said that there is no correlation between the partnership and Adura’s operations in the North Sea.

“Our partnership with Aberdeen Science Centre is focussed on supporting STEM education and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers through accessible, hands-on learning experiences,” the spokesperson said. “We believe that encouraging curiosity and knowledge in science and technology is essential for developing innovative solutions to global challenges, including climate change.”

Charlotte Howell, co-director of Parents for Future UK, said that “the fact that an oil giant is allowed to sponsor a centre that aims to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators while it actively continues to destabilise the very climate they rely on for life itself is frankly horrifying.”

Howell believes that “the mixed messages this sends are irresponsible and dangerous,” particularly given that Equinor recently slashed its investment in renewables and shifted its primary focus back to fossil fuel production.

Aberdeen Science Centre did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Campaigners also warn that Equinor’s sponsorship activities in Aberdeen are an extension of a decades-old playbook from its home country.

“There is a reason that the fossil fuel industry still enjoys such high levels of trust and political will in Norway,” said Calum Macintyre, the Scottish co-founder of Norway’s Folk Mot Fossilmakta (People Against Fossil Power) campaign. “Society has been faced with decades of sponsorships and marketing that has built a very positive story about the industry amongst the Norwegian public.”

Now Equinor is using the same playbook in the UK, he said. “Scotland should learn from the mistakes that Norway have made in not regulating the influence and access that companies like Equinor have to the public sphere,” said Macintyre. “It is a danger to democracy and we must stand up against it.”

Aberdeen Science Centre’s partnership with Equinor belongs in the past, said Julie Forchammer, co-founder of the Norwegian climate action group Klimakultur, noting that the company was still talking about becoming “a leader in renewables” when it began seven years ago.

“I have watched a Scotland in flames this summer, and we know the future will be even worse,” Forchammer said. “To legitimise the people and the company responsible for causing this kind of havoc is unbelievable.”