Major organisations call on Scottish Government to oppose new North Sea oil & gas drilling 

• 23 organisations urge Ministers to ensure that the green transition benefits Scotland’s workers and communities
•  Friends of the Earth Scotland, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland and more call on Holyrood to take a ‘robust stance against new oil and gas’. 
•  The open letter follows recent research showing that less than one quarter (23%) of Scottish people think that further investment in North Sea oil will deliver energy security.
•  The Scottish Government is currently backing new oil and gas licences if they pass vague ‘climate and energy security tests’ – which are currently undefined. 

The Scottish Government is being urged to strengthen its commitment to tackle the climate crisis and oppose new oil and gas drilling.

In a letter to the First Minister, 23 leading climate, environmental, development and faith groups warn against further backsliding on climate and are calling on the Scottish Government to take a robust stance against new oil and gas’ in its Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, expected this summer.

Polling conducted by Edinburgh-based research house Diffley Partnership before the election showed high levels of concern about climate change across Scotland. Almost two thirds (61%) of Scottish people want climate change to remain a top priority for the Scottish Government, and less than a quarter (23%) think that continued investment into North Sea oil drilling will deliver affordable and secure energy. 

The research showed that most people (67%) across Scotland think that investment in renewables and energy efficiency measures will instead offer cheaper, more stable energy. 

‘Extremely concerned’ about backing for new oil

Groups including Stop Climate Chaos Scotland and Friends of the Earth Scotland are now ‘extremely concerned’ that the Scottish Government is backing new licences if they can pass currently undefined climate and energy security tests. 

The Scottish Government previously consulted on whether it should include a presumption against new oil and gas licences in its draft Energy Strategy.

In their joint letter, the groups argue ‘it is clear that no new licences could pass a credible climate assessment’, pointing to large bodies of evidence from the International Energy Agency and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which show there can be no new fossil fuel developments if warming is to be limited to the internationally agreed 1.5C threshold.

Instead of obfuscating and refusing to adopt a clear position against new licences, the groups argue that the Scottish Government should focus on the ‘real priority’ of ensuring that workers and communities currently dependent on the oil and gas industry benefit from the shift to renewable energy. They say ‘it is vital that the Scottish and UK Governments come together to agree a coherent, credible plan to transition the North Sea’. 

The organisations argue that this must be created with the involvement of workers and communities and ‘get into the specifics of where and how opportunities will be created, backed up with investment, such as in the growth of decommissioning and wind turbine manufacturing industries’. 

Scottish Government climate failures

The ageing nature of the North Sea basin means that new licensing will do little to protect jobs or boost energy security. The number of jobs supported by the industry has more than halved over the past decade, despite hundreds of new licences being issued in this period. 

Between now and 2050, new licences are expected to provide just four days worth of gas a year on average.

The Scottish Government was one of the first governments in the world to declare a climate emergency, yet it has missed nine of its annual emission reduction targets and was forced to scrap its 2030 goal after it was deemed ‘no longer credible’ by the Climate Change Committee. 

Tessa Khan, executive director at Uplift commented:

“The last decade of job losses and decline in the industry, which have hit places like Aberdeenshire the hardest, make it clear that the Scottish Government has a central role to play in delivering a transition that protects workers and communities. 

“Previous UK Governments have spent decades issuing pointless rounds of oil and gas licensing that have done nothing to lower energy bills or provide energy security for the UK. It would be a huge mistake for the Scottish Government to endorse that approach. Moreover, jobs supported by the oil and gas sector have more than halved and investment into the basin has hit record lows. 

“Rather than protecting the financial interests of profiteering oil and gas companies the Scottish Government should support investment in clean energy and in the sectors that will provide secure jobs for decades to come.”

Friends of the Earth Scotland Climate Campaigner Alex Lee (they/them) commented:

“As the effects of climate breakdown are being felt, it is appalling that the Scottish Government is considering backing the expansion of the oil and gas industry and undermining the transition to renewable energy. If the long-delayed Energy Strategy contains yet more of the oil and gas that is unaffordable to people and the planet, we’ll know John Swinney’s team has been influenced by fossil fuel lobbyists rather than the needs of the public. 

“The Scottish Government’s approach to transition planning has been to dither, delay and leave decisions up to energy companies like Ineos at Grangemouth, who have repeatedly shown they don’t care about the impact of their decisions on either the local community or our climate. 

“Standing up to oil companies and setting an end date for oil and gas extraction is an essential part of planning for a just transition for workers and communities currently dependent on the industry. It will provide certainty for the sector, making it clear that investing in renewables is the only choice for our energy future, and enabling workforce planning.”