IAN Blackford has called on the UK Government to draw up a “credible plan” for reducing demand for North Sea oil and gas which he claimed would end the need to allow new fossil fuel projects to go ahead.
The move comes after a UN report has warned that the UK Government’s strategy includes “no plans for a wind-down in production” of fossil fuels.
The SNP’s Westminster leader refused to be drawn on whether contentious plans for a new oil field at Cambo, west of Shetland, should go ahead – but warned that with demand for fossil fuels continuing, oil and gas would need to continue to avoid reliance on overseas imports.
But Mr Blackford has faced criticism after appearing to signal that the oil and gas sector is the UK Government’s responsibility – despite longstanding commitments from the SNP that “it’s Scotland’s oil”.
The Scottish Government's white paper on independence in 2013 said that “the oil and gas sector has been a major part of the economy of Scotland since the 1970s”.
It added that “an independent Scotland will aim to maximise the safe production of oil and gas from the fields of Scotland’s shores, with a stable and predictable fiscal regime.”
But Nicola Sturgeon’s party has shifted its stance on oil and gas in light of the climate crisis. But the SNP has not come out in opposition to new oil and gas projects being allowed to be developed – angering climate activists.
READ MORE: Cambo oil field: Nicola Sturgeon 'deferring to Boris Johnson' on future of oil and gas
Mr Blackford, speaking to the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists’ Association, stressed that demand for oil and gas must be reduced by the UK Government.
He said that Boris Johnson's leadership has “an important platform” as hosts of COP26, adding that “we are not doing enough” on climate change.
Mr Blackford added: “We need to see a fresh impetus.”
The SNP Westminster leader has insisted “we need to get to a position that would drive down consumption of fossil fuels”.
He added: “In doing that, we do have to tackle the demand side.
“We’ve got to be more serious about these things. It’s through reducing that demand for fossil fuels that will get us into a position where there will no longer be any need for new oil and gas fields.
“If we do end up in a situation where we don’t allow any oil field development in Scotland and we are having to import increasing amounts of oil, all we’ve done is shifted that problem elsewhere – we haven’t dealt with the problem.
“We’ve got to tackle the issue with demand and we’ve got to drive that demand down. Driving the demand down will negate the need for oilfield development.”
Mr Blackford said: “I want to get to the time when we don’t have a reliance on fossil fuels – we don’t need it. But we need a credible plan to do that.”
The UK Government’s net zero plan, published last week warns that “removing dirty fossil fuels will require the transformation of every sector of the global economy”.
The strategy assumes that “reliance on fossil fuels will drop considerably” by 2050, when the UK will become net zero.
READ MORE: Plans to allow oil and gas workers to transfer to renewable energy jobs
But UK Government officials only expect both natural gas and oil demand to be cut in half by 2037.
The document adds: “Oil and gas will continue to play an important role as we transform from an economy based on fossil fuels to one based on clean energy.”
A report published by the UN Environment Programme (Unep) and research institutions found that planned production by fossil fuel-producing countries, including the UK, is 110% above – more than double – the levels that will allow the world to curb temperature rises to 1.5C.
Despite increased climate action and pledges, the fossil fuel production “gap” between countries’ plans and what scientists say is needed to curb dangerous warming has hardly changed since a first report on the issue by the UN in 2019.
The UN report warns that the UK Government’s North Sea transition deal for the offshore oil and gas sector has “no plans for a wind-down in production".
The document adds: “In March 2021, the UK Government announced a North Sea Transition Deal with its offshore oil and gas industry that will not stop national fossil fuel exploration or production.”
Scottish Conservative net zero, energy and transport spokesperson, Liam Kerr has accused the SNP of having "effectively abandoned the North Sea industry to appease their Green coalition partners" having claimed in 2014 that "oil and gas would fund independence".
He added: "The UK needs energy security while managing consumer demand for oil and gas, which is still high.
"With the North Sea transition deal worth £16 billion to decarbonise the energy sector, the UK Government has stepped up to support 100,000 jobs and the economy as we move away from oil and gas.
"In contrast, the SNP have produced nothing but warm words to help meet our climate obligations."
Neale Hanvey, Alba Westminster Leader, said: “ Any reasonable person will likely conclude that the Greens are being given absolute control over Scottish Government policy while they hide behind Westminster’s coat tails when it comes to addressing the challenge of future exploration.
"Scotland’s vast energy potential can transition to a zero carbon future in a range of ways but economic prosperity will never be achieved by abandoning our skilled workforce.
"It is risible that the SNP, the Greens and the Tories are seemingly working hand in glove with a determination to destroy our energy sectors great potential. Scotland deserves so much better than this betrayal.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel