The Oil Machine

• Drinks and snacks will be provided from 6pm.
• The programme will run from 6.30pm till 8.00pm.
• Opportunity for more informal networking thereafter.

The event is hosted by Nadia Whittome MP in collaboration with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change.

RSVP now

The award-winning documentary THE OIL MACHINE raises the question if we can break our addiction to oil and gas. Independently produced and co-funded by BBC Scotland and Screen Scotland, the film has won international acclaim at some of the world’s most significant documentary festivals. Across the UK, the film has been shown at more than 180 events to date – many of them hosted by groups who use the film as a tool to spark discussion and instigate action in their own communities. As we speak, the film is also being released in the United States and Norway.

THE OIL MACHINE, directed by Emma Davie, is praised for offering an immersive experience of a highly complex issue, using a multi-stakeholder approach. The film brings together the voices of oil company executives, trade unions, climate scientists, historians, economists, investors, lawyers and young people. This sets it apart from other, more advocacy-focused videos, and has made it an ideal tool to start conversations between different interest groups.

We are inviting Members of Parliament, peers, their staff, and other policymakers in Westminster to get a taste of the acclaimed film through a selection of clips, and to hear directly from the stakeholders who are at the frontline of the struggle to find solutions to what’s arguably the most urgent issue of our times. Key people featured in the film will join us on the night, giving MPs the opportunity to meet and discuss with them:

• Ann Pettifor, Economist and Author, Prime Economics
• Jake Molloy, Just Transition team, RMT Union
• Tessa Khan, Climate Lawyer, Uplift
• James Marriott, Author and Campaigner, Platform London
• Guy Prince, Senior Oil & Gas Analyst, Carbon Tracker

While taking a multi-stakeholder approach, the documentary makes it clear that we need to act urgently. Sir David King, the UK’s former Chief Scientific Advisor and Special Representative for Climate Change, says in the film: “I believe that what we do over the next five years will determine the future of humanity for the next millennium.”

So against the backdrop of COP28, we will ask the rather urgent question: “Is the North Sea out of our control?”

The panel will be hosted by writer Jen Stout, who has been reporting from the frontiers of oil (Shetland) and the frontlines of war (Ukraine), always with an emphasis on the human experience. A former BBC journalist, she freelances for outlets like The London Review of Books, Prospect and New Humanist. Her debut book Night Train to Odesa comes out in May 2024.

RSVP by 29 November.

Please note this is a private event, by invitation only. The RSVP form below is only intended for MPs and peers, their staff, and a number of external invitees. If you're not one of them, your RSVP may be cancelled.