Tories misleading communities with motion from sidelines
Scottish Conservatives are misleading communities with a ridiculous debate in parliament that fails to understand the meaning of the words ‘just transition’, the Scottish Greens have said.
The Tories have announced they will be seeking parliament’s backing for reckless expansion of fossil fuel production, against the advice of the International Energy Agency, the UN Secretary General and the Climate Change Committee.
The motion suggests that the Scottish Greens are ‘extremists’ for accepting this advice.
Scottish Greens climate spokesperson Mark Ruskell said: “The Scottish Conservatives clearly do not understand the meaning of the word transition. We are investing in jobs in alternative industries while the Tories call us names from the sidelines.
“Expanding oil and gas production is the opposite of a transition, and it is misleading to the communities who rely on this industry for jobs and livelihoods to suggest otherwise. The UN General Secretary himself has called for no more expansion in fossil fuels, and the UK Government’s own advisers the Climate Change Committee told MSPs the case has not been made. It appears the Scottish Conservatives are willing to call them extremists too, rather than provide a real future for Scotland’s communities.”