Humza Yousaf has come under fire for failing to disclose whether he met fossil fuel company lobbyists whilst at the COP28 climate talks.
Climate campaigners are calling for Humza Yousaf to come clean following reports that more than 2,400 fossil fuel company lobbyists are attending the talks in Dubai.
The world’s largest coalition of climate NGOs, Climate Action Network, has warned that there are more fossil fuel lobbyists than the delegates from the 10 countries most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis at COP28.
The organisation also stressed that there are more than seven times the number of fossil fuel lobbyists than official indigenous representatives at the summit.
Mr Yousaf has been urged to make clear that he has not met with fossil fuels executives as he attempts to place Scotland as a “world leader” in climate action.
However, the sue of fossil fuels is a key element of the talks, and oil and gas companies will be a major part of the ‘just transition’ to Net Zero.
Should they not be a part of the conversation as Ministers draft policy for the future?
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READ MORE: Humza Yousaf urged to say if he met fossil fuels bosses at COP28
A spokesperson for the First Minister did not confirm if meetings with fossil fuel companies had been held but said "the people of Scotland would expect the First Minister to engage constructively with major employers and industries in Scotland".
Scottish Government Ministers met with oil companies at previous UN climate conferences including then Finance Secretary Kate Forbes meeting oil giant Equinor at Glasgow COP26, while Nicola Sturgeon's special advisor Liz Lloyd met the boss of Scotland's biggest polluter SSE in Sharm El-Sheik talks in 2022.
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