Young protesters branded Alok Sharma a “hypocrite” during a speech in Glasgow on Saturday, before walking out in protest at the government’s support for the Cambo oil field.
Sharma was barely a minute into his closing speech at the COY16 youth conference before a young delegate called out: “Alok Sharma you are a hypocrite.”
Video captured at the event shows delegates standing up and leading chants, with one unfurling a “Fridays for Future” flag, before the group walked out to applause and cheers.
Delegates in the lecture theatre at the University of Strathclyde, also chanted: “What do we want? Climate justice. When do we want it? Now!”
Sharma, who is president of the COP26 climate summit, was giving the closing address at COY16, the UN Climate Change Conference of Youth.
The Cambo oil field, 75 miles west of Shetland, contains more than 800 million barrels of oil – a big enough reserve to sustain 25 years of extraction.