Last September the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry took sponsorship money from the oil giant Shell, and got accused of hypocrisy for its troubles.  Partners in its “science festival withdrew in protest.  Manchester’s Carbon Coop has set up a “Shell Out” campaign.

Meanwhile Community Energy UK is having its next big meeting, on March 1st, on the important subject  Community Energy in Greater Manchester: The Next 5 Years  at… MOSI.  Oops, “awkward” as the young people used to say.

We reached out to Shell Out for a comment. Here is their statement in full

The Shell Out campaign continues to pressure the Manchester Science Museum to end its association with Shell and the Electricity exhibition – funding from fossil fuel companies has no place in modern science communication, in particular exhibitions in which young people are invited to learn about the current and future energy system.

However, we have always been supportive of the Science Museum as an institution and whilst the museum is free of institutional funding from  Shell, we welcome the involvement of Community Energy groups at events  at the museum – these are exactly the sorts of groups pioneering a new,  decarbonsised and localised energy system that MSI should be associated  with, rather than dinosaurs of the past like Shell.

We would encourage all the Community Energy groups participating in the  event to sign up Oil Sponsorship Free  pledge(http://oilsponsorshipfree.org) and make their views on Shell’s  sponsorship of the Electricity exhibition clear to MSI whilst in the  building.