Climate protests who disrupted First Minister’s Questions have called on the Scottish Government to set out a stronger opposition to the continued use of oil and gas.
Nicola Sturgeon was being pressed by her SNP colleague Fiona Hyslop who criticised the lack of action from the Scottish Government to tackle the climate crisis, when proceedings were briefly paused when climate protesters made themselves heard.
The first intervention asked the "First Minister to “oppose each and every new oil or gas project”.
READ MORE: SNP Westminster leader uses Tory argument to justify new oil and gas
A second person added: "We need proper opposition to Westminster non Rosebank and Jackdaw and no new onshore projects like Peterhead - which you have control over."
A third said: "We need to transition to renewables for people not profit. This means no destruction of St. Fittick's, and no reliance on false solutions like carbon capture."
The demonstration came after the Scottish Government published its delayed new energy strategy on Tuesday.
The blueprint tables a “presumption against” new North Sea oil and gas fields being developed and could potentially see the SNP call on the UK Government to wind down the industry at a faster pace than 2050 when stocks are expected to run out.
READ MORE: SNP to consider speeding up decline of North Sea oil and gas sector
In the document, the Scottish Government has warned that the UK Government’s climate compatibility checkpoint for new oil and gas developments, drawn up in September in partnership with the fossil fuels industry, is “not rigorous enough” to meet climate targets.
But campaigners have raised concerns that SNP ministers are not setting out their position strongly enough against oil and gas expansion, despite asking in the accompanying consultation whether the checkpoint should be expanded to cover “fields that are already consented but not yet in production” such as the controversial Cambo proposals.
Responsibility for the action has been claimed by the Scottish climate movement as part of a collaboration from groups including This is Rigged, Just Stop Oil Scotland and Extinction Rebellion Scotland.
The groups are demanding the Scottish Government to officially revoke their support of all new oil and gas. This includes projects in the process of approval, such as Jackdaw and Rosebank, and onshore oil and gas projects such as Peterhead.
Yesterday, SNP Energy Secretary Michael Matheson, said he would not give his view on whether ramping down the oil and gas sector should be accelerated while the Scottish Government has launched a consultation.
During First Minister’s Questions, Ms Hyslop warned Ms Sturgeon that “every Government bears acute responsibilities for tackling the climate emergency”.
She added: “With the Scottish Government’s draft energy strategy that was published this week and the Climate Change Committee’s critical report that was published in December, does the First Minister acknowledge that the Government now needs to accelerate delivery on housing and transport emission reductions and a just transition to renewable energy?
“Will she ensure that the Government’s budget is sufficient and that public bodies ramp up on delivery, given that, on current trends, we will not meet our ambitious net zero targets?”
READ MORE: SNP's just transition chief not consulted over oil and gas strategy
In response, Ms Sturgeon stressed that the new energy strategy is “in part about how we accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to renewable and low-carbon sources of energy in a fair and just manner”
She added: “We have to decarbonise the energy system, and the draft energy strategy goes into detail about how we do that.
“We must make sure that the climate change plan reflects all of that. A draft of that plan will be published later this year, alongside sectoral just transition plans, to set out a clear path for emissions reductions. Of course, we also need to make sure that investment is in place to back up all of that.
“The Government remains focused on the issue. We often talk about it in terms of a challenge, and much of it is challenging, but there are also massive opportunities for Scotland in all of this, which we must seize.”
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