Climate report shows why UK must halt new oil and gas exploration
It would be reckless and dangerous for the UK government to allow new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, say the Scottish Greens.
A new report from the Climate Change Committee, an independent statutory body of experts, shows that the UK is going backwards.
The authors note that their
“confidence in the UK meeting its goals from 2030 onwards is now markedly less than it was in our previous assessment a year ago...
“A key opportunity to push a faster pace of progress has been missed.”
The Chairman of the Climate Change Committee, Lord Deben, notes that the UK government
“has been too slow to embrace cleaner, cheaper alternatives and too keen to support new production of coal, oil and gas.”
The Scottish Greens climate spokesperson, Mark Ruskell MSP, said:
“This is simply not good enough. In fact it is shameful. The world is burning around us and the UK government is burying its head in the sand, missing opportunities and is going backwards.
“How can they seriously be proposing new oil and gas exploration at a time when they are already failing on so many vital fronts? It would be a totally reckless and dangerous act of climate vandalism and would inflict huge environmental damage on future generations.
“This has to be a massive wake up call to both the Tories and Labour. We cannot continue with business as usual. New oil and gas drilling is a recipe for climate chaos and a road to ruin. But that is all that Downing Street and the Scottish Tories are offering.
“Waiting around is no option. The decisions we make today will have an impact for decades to come.
“We urgently need to decarbonise our economy by investing in renewables and ensuring a just transition away from oil and gas. Anything less than that is a total abdication for those that follow us.
“In Scotland we are shifting the dial and working with the limited powers we have.
“Whether it is the vital new standards we are introducing for heating, the record investment we have delivered for walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure, free bus travel for everyone under 22 or the Circular Economy Bill that will transform our relationship with waste. These are the kinds of changes we need to see in every part of the UK and beyond.”
