UK Government ‘denying reality’ with new oil and gas licences

Environmental campaigners have reacted to the UK Government plans to ramp up oil and gas extraction despite its devastating climate impacts.

The Secretary of State for Energy Jacob Rees-Mogg confirmed yesterday that the UK Government will support over 100 licences for companies to explore for more fossil fuels in the North Sea, as well as lifting the moratorium on fracking in England.

Climate science and energy experts have repeatedly warned that any new oil and gas projects will push the world well past dangerous climate limits.

Last year, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon opposed the controversial Cambo oil field but since then she has failed to speak out against the recently approved Jackdaw field or the Rosebank field which contains nearly 500 million barrels of oil.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Oil and Gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “In ploughing forward with this new licensing round, the UK Government is effectively denying the reality of the climate emergency with scientists and energy experts clear that there can be no new oil and gas.

“The devastating climate impacts people are enduring with floods in Pakistan, typhoons in Japan and heatwaves in the UK are being driven by burning fossil fuels.

“The UK government’s supposed checkpoint is a worthless charade as there can be no climate compatible new oil and gas. It is a deeply cynical attempt to provide cover for reckless plans to expand the very industry that is fuelling both the climate and the cost of living crises.

“With the cost of living skyrocketing due to the volatile prices of oil and gas, it’s obvious that our current system is completely unfit for purpose, serving only to make oil company bosses and shareholders richer while everyone else loses out. We urgently need a transition to an energy system powered by renewables, and a mass rollout of energy efficiency measures to reduce energy demand.

“The Scottish Government must be willing to stand up to these reckless plans to expand fossil fuels and hand out permits for oil and gas companies to explore and drill in the North Sea.

“These plans will lock us into a climate-destroying energy system for decades to come, entrenching reliance on this volatile industry in places like Aberdeen, and leaving people all across Scotland exposed to rocketing energy bills.”

The Scottish Government has confirmed that there will be NO fracking in Scotland.

Scottish Government must stand up to Rees-Mogg on ‘reckless fossil fuel expansion’, says Friends of the Earth

Environmental campaigners have reacted to the appointment of Jacob Rees-Mogg MP as UK Energy Minister and are calling on the Scottish Government to ‘stand up to’ his plans to expand North Sea oil and gas.

The new Prime Minister Liz Truss appointed Rees-Mogg as Secretary of State for Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy this week. 

Liz Truss supporters have said that she is expected to hand out more than 130 exploration licences for more oil and gas in UK waters. The Prime Minister also indicated that she would be willing to support fracking in areas where communities supported it. Scotland has a de facto ban on fracking.

Rees-Mogg said in April 2022 “We need to be thinking about exploiting every last cubic inch of gas from the North Sea. We are not going for net zero tomorrow – 2050 is a long way off.” He has also spoken of ‘climate alarmism’ and has been accused of misrepresenting climate science.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon opposed the controversial Cambo oil field last year but has failed to speak out against the recently approved Jackdaw field or the Rosebank field which contains over 300 million barrels of oil equivalent – far outstripping the Cambo field’s initial phase of 150 million barrels.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s oil and gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “With his track record of climate denial it should be extremely worrying for anyone concerned about a liveable planet that Jacob Rees-Mogg has been appointed UK Energy Minister.

“The Scottish Government must be willing to stand up to Rees-Mogg’s reckless plans to expand fossil fuels and hand out more licences for oil and gas companies to explore and drill in the North Sea. Ministers at Holyrood must speak out and use all the tools at their disposal to block any plans to further lock us into the oil and gas that is driving both the climate and cost of living crises.

“In a welcome change of position at COP26 the First Minister stated that she would no longer support drilling for every last drop of oil and gas in the North Sea, and spoke out against the Cambo oil field. But with barely a whimper of opposition from the Scottish Government to new fossil fuel developments such as Jackdaw and Rosebank, promises made at COP26 are starting to ring hollow.

“Renewables are already far more affordable than new fossil fuels. Scaling up home insulation programmes can help bring down bills, create decent green jobs right across the country and ensure that every home is warm this winter.“

Truss: Energy Price Guarantee will ‘give people certainty’ on energy bills

Prime Minister Liz Truss’s opening speech on the energy policy debate in the House of Commons yesterday:

Earlier this week I promised I would deal with the soaring energy prices faced by families and businesses across the UK. And today I am delivering on that promise.

This Government is moving immediately to introduce a new Energy Price Guarantee that will give people certainty on energy bills.

It will curb inflation and boost growth.

This Guarantee – which includes a temporary suspension of green levies – means that from 1st October a typical household will pay no more than £2,500 per year for each of the next two years, while we get the energy market back on track.

This will save a typical household £1,000 a year. It comes in addition to the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme.

This Guarantee supersedes the Ofgem price cap, and has been agreed with energy retailers.

We will deliver this by securing the wholesale price for energy, while putting in place long-term measures to secure future supplies at more affordable rates.

We are supporting this country through this winter and next, and tackling the root cause of high prices, so we are never in this position again.

For those using heating oil, living in park homes or those on heat networks, we will set up a fund so that all UK consumers can benefit from equivalent support.

We will also support all businesses, charities and public sector organisations with their energy costs this winter – offering an equivalent guarantee for 6 months.

After those 6 months we will provide further support to vulnerable sectors, such as hospitality, including our local pubs.

My Rt Hon Friend the Business Secretary will work with businesses to review where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support. This review will be concluded within 3 months, giving businesses certainty.

In the meantime, companies with the wherewithal need to be looking for ways they can improve energy efficiency and increase direct energy generation

We will be bringing forward emergency legislation to deliver this policy. And my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will set out the expected costs as part of his fiscal statement later this month.

I can tell the House today that we will not be giving in to calls for this to be funded through a windfall tax.

That would undermine the national interest by discouraging the very investment we need to secure home-grown energy supplies. You can’t tax your way to growth.

Instead, we are taking an approach which is pro-growth, pro-business and pro the investment we need for energy security.

This is the moment to be bold. We are facing a global energy crisis and there are no ‘cost-free’ options.

There will be a cost to this intervention. However we are also acting immediately to defray the cost of this intervention in three ways.

Firstly, by ramping up supply.

Following on from the successful vaccine taskforce, we have created a new Energy Supply Taskforce under the leadership of Maddy McTernan.

They are already negotiating new long term energy contracts with domestic and international gas suppliers to immediately bring down the cost of this intervention.

We are also accelerating all sources of domestic energy, including North Sea oil and gas production.

We will be launching a new licensing round, which we expect to lead to over 100 new licences being awarded.

And we will speed up our deployment of all clean and renewable technologies including hydrogen, solar, carbon capture and storage, and wind… where we are already the world leader in offshore generation.

Renewable and nuclear generators will move onto Contracts for Difference to end the situation where electricity prices are set by the marginal price of gas.

This will mean generators are receiving a fair price, reflecting their cost of production, further bringing down the cost of this intervention.

Secondly, today’s action will deliver substantial benefits to our economy, boosting growth which increases tax receipts and gives certainty to business.

This intervention is expected to curb inflation by up to 5 percentage points, bringing a reduction in the cost of servicing government debt.

Thirdly, this morning, together with the Bank of England, we will set up a new scheme, worth up to £40 billion, to ensure that firms operating in wholesale energy markets have the liquidity they need to manage price volatility.

This will stabilise the market and decrease the likelihood that energy retailers need our support, like they did last Winter.

By increasing supply, boosting the economy and increasing liquidity in the market we will significantly reduce the cost to government of this intervention.

As well as dealing with the immediate situation we face, we are also dealing with the root causes.

Energy policy over the past decades has not focused enough on securing supply.

There’s no better example than nuclear, where the UK has not built a single new nuclear reactor in 25 years.

It’s not just about supply. The regulatory structures have failed, exposing the problems of having a price cap applied to the retail but not the wholesale market.

All of this has left us vulnerable to volatile global markets and malign actors in an increasingly geopolitical world.

That is why Putin is exploiting by weaponising energy supplies as part of his illegal war on Ukraine.

So as well as the action we are taking today on bills, we will use the next 2 years to make sure that the United Kingdom is never in this situation again.

I will be launching two reviews.

Firstly, a review of energy regulation to fix the underlying problems. We want a new approach which will address supply and affordability for the long term.

Secondly, we will conduct a review to ensure we deliver net zero by 2050 in a way that is pro-business and pro-growth. This review will be led by my Rt Hon Friend the member for Kingswood.

We are delivering a stable environment that gives investors the confidence to back gas as part of our transition to net zero.

We will end the moratorium on extracting our huge reserves of shale, which could get gas flowing in as soon as six months, where there is local support.

We will launch Great British Nuclear later this month – putting us on the path to deliver up to a quarter of our electricity generation with nuclear by 2050.

As a result of these steps on shale and nuclear and the acceleration of renewables, I am today setting a new ambition for our country.

Far from being dependent on the global energy market and the actions of malign actors, we will make sure the UK a net energy exporter by 2040.

And my Rt Hon Friend the Business Secretary will set out a plan in the next two months to make sure we achieve this.

I know businesses and families are very concerned about how they will get through this winter.

That’s why I felt it was important to act urgently to provide immediate help and support, as well as setting out our plan about how we are going to secure the UK’s future supplies.

This is part of my vision for rebuilding our economy.

Secure energy supply is vital to growth and prosperity. Yet it has been ignored for too long.

I will end the UK’s short-termist approach to energy security and supply once and for all.

That is what I promised on the steps of Downing Street.

Today we are acting decisively to deliver that pledge.

This will help us build a stronger, more resilient and more secure United Kingdom.

I commend this motion to the House.

UK GOVERNMENT BORROWING MORE TO BOLSTER OIL COMPANY PROFITS

Environmental campaigners have reacted to the UK Government plans for an energy price freeze funded by borrowing.

The UK Government will open a new licensing round for the North Sea next week, and is expected to give out over 100 permits for companies to look for more climate-wrecking oil and gas. This is despite climate science and energy experts warning that any new oil and gas projects will push the world well past dangerous climate limits.

Independent advisors have made it clear that increasing UK supply of oil and gas will have almost no impact on UK bills as prices are set by the international market.

Liz Truss also announced that her Government will lift the moratorium on shale gas. Scotland has a de facto ban on fracking.

In the first 6 months of 2022, 5 oil companies made over £80 billion in profits: Shell £16.6bn, BP £12.2bn, Exxonmobil £21.7bn, TotalEnergies £15.2bn, Chevron £14.5bn.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “The impact of measures announced today to stop the immediate rise in household bills is welcome, but the approach taken by the new Prime Minister singularly fails to address the fundamental problems of a broken energy system that serves only to enrich oil company bosses and shareholders.

“The money the UK Government is borrowing will be pumped straight into the coffers of oil companies when it could have helped deliver the transition to clean, reliable renewables. People in the UK are being robbed by fossil fuel companies but instead of making them pay for the harm they are causing, Liz Truss has decided to borrow more money to keep paying the robbers.

“This energy price crisis is being driven by the price of fossil fuels and the only sure fire to prevent this happening again is a rapid and fair transition to renewable energy and a scaling up of energy efficiency.”

+ NORTH SEA OIL & GAS LICENCES
“Burning oil and gas is driving the climate emergency that sees tens of millions displaced by floods in Pakistan and has brought extreme heatwaves and drought across the UK. The UK Government is denying the reality of climate change by encouraging companies to seek out more fuel for the fire that is engulfing the world.

“The Scottish Government must be willing to stand up to these reckless plans to expand fossil fuels and hand out more licences for oil and gas companies to explore and drill in the North Sea. Ministers at Holyrood must speak out and use all the tools at their disposal to block any plans to further lock us into the oil and gas that is driving both the climate and cost of living crises.”

+ FRACKING
“The move to try reopen and force through fracking is a disgrace. Not only is the industry incredibly harmful in climate terms it also brings with it serious local health and environmental risks. Its laughable to suggest that fracked gas will deliver within 6 months. Communities have already successfully fought and stopped it in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland so wherever this dirty dangerous industry is proposed, it will be opposed once again.”

Commenting on the proposals announced by the government today to support households and businesses with energy bills, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Freezing energy bills this autumn is essential for families and to protect jobs and businesses.

“But the Prime Minister is making the wrong people pay. She should have imposed a much larger windfall tax on profiteering oil and gas giants. And she should have required all firms getting help with energy bills to commit to no lay-offs for the lifetime of the help, to protect livelihoods.

“And it’s not just energy bills soaring – so she needs to do more to help families get through the winter. That means a real plan to get wages rising, a big boost to universal credit, child benefit and pensions, and a massive rollout of home improvements to cut bills. And it’s time to bring energy retail into public ownership to make sure this crisis never happens again.”

The TUC says that the government should set out a programme to make UK living standards more resilient and the UK economy more resistant to a future crisis. This should include: 

  • Increase the windfall tax to a fairer level relative to the excess profits oil and gas firms are making.
  • Rapid rollout of home energy efficiency and taking the energy retail companies into public ownership – including a new approach to energy pricing with a free band of energy to cover basic lighting, heating, hot water and cooking.
  • A plan to get pay rising for all workers – including stronger pay bargaining rights so that working people and their unions can make fair pay agreements across whole industries. 
  • Increase the minimum wage to £15 an hour as soon as possible – by returning the UK to normal wage growth and having a more ambitious minimum wage target. 
  • Social security that prevents poverty – universal credit and benefits should be raised to 80 percent of the national living wage, along with a significant boost to support for families with children.  

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s decision to end the moratorium on fracking, Tom Fyans, director of campaigns and policy at CPRE, the countryside charity, said:  ‘Giving fracking the green light is a hideous mistake.

“If the purpose is to tackle bank busting gas prices, it’s an exercise in futility. Even if we were to go full steam ahead on fracking, which nobody wants, least of all rural communities, it wouldn’t make a dent on the cost of energy anytime soon, or ever. 

‘Any move to industrialise the countryside and belch yet more fumes into our carbon-soaked atmosphere will prompt a furious response from local communities, drawn out planning delays and nationwide protests. Hardly a proposal to keep families warm this winter, or lower bills in the future. 

‘The new Chancellor got it right in March, when he said fracking “would take up to a decade to extract sufficient volumes — and it would come at a high cost for communities and our precious countryside.” Nothing has changed. 

‘Proposals to offer local people discounts on their bills in exchange for environmental destruction on their doorsteps need to be seen for what they are – a feeble attempt to bribe vulnerable rural communities to accept an unpopular, unsafe and polluting process that will destroy their tranquility. Local communities need to make their voices heard loud and clear – they were right to resist before and should continue to do so. 

‘The answer to the fossil fuel price crisis is to reduce usage with a mass insulation drive, alongside a clean energy sprint. There has never been a better time to transform our energy infrastructure to ensure a future of abundant green power. 

‘Renewables are around nine times cheaper and far quicker to plug in than any alternative. Families facing the biggest drop in living standards on record need renewable energy to become the central pillar of a modernised energy system. And they need it to happen fast.’ 

A LEADING property association has praised the Government’s package of measures to help those unable to afford rising energy costs. 

The National Association Of Property Buyers said the Prime Minister’s “swift and decisive intervention” would help many. 

Spokesman Jonathan Rolande said: “Looking at the energy and inflation crisis from the perspective of the property market, we welcome the swift and decisive intervention by the government to help households and businesses with the cost of energy by capping annual expenditure at an average of £2500.

“The impact of higher increases jeopardised so many facets of the economy it was almost impossible to over-exaggerate the terrible consequences there might have been – bankruptcies, unemployment, increased inflation, a house price crash – all were very possible.

“Bills and inflation still look set to rise. Interest rates may well do so too. But the cliff-edge has, for now, been avoided. Businesses and homeowners now have certainty about their budgets and can plan accordingly.

“There will of course be a price to pay, perhaps with higher bills or taxes in the future. But today at least, homeowners, businesses, charities and everyone in the property sector will be breathing a huge sigh of relief.”

Under proposals outlined today, a typical household energy bill will be capped at £2,500 annually until 2024.

The huge support scheme could cost up to £150bn, but Ms Truss refused to put a figure on it, saying “extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures”.

Businesses will get support, with bills capped for six months, a shorter period of protection than many had hoped for.

The help will be for everyone in England, Scotland and Wales with equivalent help for Northern Ireland.

But there are concerns the measures are not targeted enough, with no additional support for the most vulnerable. As a result, millions are still expected to be in fuel poverty this winter.

The energy price cap – the highest amount suppliers are allowed to charge households for every unit of energy they use – had been due to rise to £3,549 in October.

To limit the amount customers’ bills go up by, the government will compensate energy firms for the difference between the wholesale price for gas and electricity they pay and the amount they can charge customers.

The final cost of the scheme will depend on the cost of energy on the international energy markets, which can be extremely volatile.

The money to cover the support will be borrowed by the government, adding to the UK’s already large debt pile.

England bans fracking

  • Oil and Gas Authority report published today concludes that it is not possible with current technology to accurately predict the probability of tremors associated with fracking
  • Separate proposals to change the planning process for fracking sites will no longer be taken forward at this time

Fracking will not be allowed to proceed in England, the government has announced today, following the publication of new scientific analysis. Continue reading England bans fracking

Scottish Government says NO to fracking

The Scottish Government has announced that it will not support the development of Unconventional Oil and Gas in Scotland, meaning there is an effective ban on fracking in Scotland. The decision has been given a qualified welcomed by local campaigners Our Forth while Northern and Leith MSP Ben Macpherson is delighted that the government is ‘putting communities first’. Continue reading Scottish Government says NO to fracking

Beanies for Babies tomorrow

“Beanies for Babies Event” – this Thursday!

This event is an open invite to all Grannies and Grandads to join us in a giant knitting session to raise awareness of Unconventional Gas Extraction (fracking).

We are organising a giant knitting fest where we’ll all be knitting beanies which will then be donated to the local neo-natal unit.

Evidence has shown that young and unborn children and one of the groups which are most negatively affected by unconventional gas extraction and so the event is being organised to link in with this, provide some practical benefits to the community, and highlight the risks and dangers at the same time.

So grab your pins and come and join us outside the Scottish Parliament  for a “knitting-fest” tomorrow (Thursday (25th May) between 12-2pm!

More details about the event can be found via: https://www.facebook.com/events/816123575213328/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%224%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D

Trade Union welcomes ‘sensible’ fracking intervention

GMB Scotland has welcomed a ‘sensible’ intervention by the representative body for the UK’s onshore oil and gas industry (UKOOG) to the Scottish government’s consultation on fracking.

The UKOOG response and the launch of its new website, www.gas4scotland.scot lays out economic and employment opportunities presented by fracking , bringing much needed balance to the debate over Scotland’s energy future.

The industry body’s response follows on from a recent report produced by the University of Strathclyde’s Centre for Energy Policy, ‘Natural Gas in the Energy Policy of the UK and Scotland’, commissioned by GMB Scotland, which states the choice facing Scotland is ‘not one of whether to include gas in our energy mix for the foreseeable future, but where the gas will come from?

Against the backdrop of rising fuel poverty in Scotland, GMB has been pressing the case for an honest debate about Scotland’s energy future, urging politicians to fully examine the cost, environmental and employment implications of winding-down domestic gas production.

GMB Scotland Secretary Gary Smith said: “The debate around fracking among Scotland’s political elite is mired in hypocrisy because as UKOOG rightly point out, we’ve been fracking the North Sea for decades and we’ve been more than happy to reap the rewards.

“GMB’s own recent report shows we are increasingly dependent on imported gas and our energy consumption demands cannot be met without gas.  Abandoning our gas production makes no sense and we need to be pragmatic about fracking.

“The vast majority of Scottish homes are heated by gas while fuel poverty levels are on the up. Is the Scottish government suggesting people will have to rip out their gas boilers and replace them with electric heating that will increase bills three fold?

“That’s just not credible and when you factor the prospect of consumers being forced to go cap in hand to countries like Russia and Qatar for their gas needs in the future then we suspect the vast majority of people in Scotland would have similar concerns.

“The idea that we can affordably heat our homes, power our economy and sustain thousands of jobs without domestic gas production is just ‘pie in the sky’ politics and the main losers will be hard working Scots and the poorest in our society.

“This is a sensible intervention by UKOOG that tackles the superficial demonisation of domestic gas production and lays out the economic and employment opportunities a properly regulated fracking industry could offer Scotland.”

 

Bentley Effect: workshops and film screening

Afternoon workshop and evening screening – Thursday 18th May

The film’s about a group of communities standing together in solidarity in a fight against the “Goliath” of an gas extraction company where, against all the odds, they won with the strength they built together.   And so there’s two things about the film which I think might be of interest.

1.  Its crowd sourced and the crew touring with the film are the director, a town mayor and one of the key activists so there’ll be discussions with positive messages after the film.

2.  They’ve offered to run a workshop in the afternoon before the film which are being tagged as “potential community responses” but I think essentially they’ll be about forms of action.

And so you can find details re The Bentley Effect below but you can see the Bentley Effect trailer via:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLnRD3neUFo

There’s a sign up route for the “collective responses” workshop on the 18th before the film screening and this can be accessed via:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-response-to-fracking-workshop-1230for1-5pm-thur18may-edinburgh-tickets-34117267666

www.eventbrite.co.uk
All concerned about the threat of Extremme Energy are invited to this community activists workshop exploring all the options for bearing witness against corporate plans for fracking in Scotland – so-called Unconventional Oil and Gas planned for mainly the Central Belt.  Please book via https://frack18may.eventbrite.co.uk.
Bring and Share lunch from 12.30-1 then we are in the hands of our three Australian visitors who will be showing their seminal documentary “The Bentley Effect” early in the evening at 50 George Sq.  12.30   Registration and informal bring and share lunch13.00

UCG: Scotland says NO

ucg

The Scottish Government will not support underground coal gasification (UCG) developments in Scotland following the publication of an independent report that highlights serious environmental concerns. The announcement comes on the same day the Westminster government gave the green light to fracking at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site at Little Plumpton in Lancashire.

UCG should not be confused with hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, or coal-bed methane both of which are Unconventional Oil and Gas (UOG) technologies. Today’s announcement has no bearing on the policy on either of these technologies, which remain covered by the Scottish Government’s moratorium on UOG technologies.

The Scottish Government put in place a moratorium on UCG in October last year so that evidence on the practice could be gathered and considered.

Professor Campbell Gemmell of University of Glasgow was tasked to undertake an independent examination of UCG. Having received his report, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy Paul Wheelhouse today [Thursday, October 6] updated Parliament on the Scottish Government’s response to the findings.

The report finds that it would appear logical “to progress toward a ban” of UCG, based on a variety of reasons, including:

• the UCG industry having a history of incidents of pollution and losses of containment and;
• UCG presenting a serious issue to face in reducing Scotland’s carbon/greenhouse gas emissions without an operational storage method, such as carbon capture.

Mr Wheelhouse said: “Having considered the report in detail, it is the Scottish Government’s view that UCG poses numerous and serious environmental risks and, on that basis, the Scottish Government cannot support this technology. Accordingly, UCG will have no place in Scotland’s energy mix at this time.

“In Professor Gemmell’s report he recommends it would be wise to consider an approach to UCG based upon a precautionary presumption against the technology, and that it would appear logical to progress toward a ban.

“I cannot predict what kind of clean energy technologies may be available in the decades to come, but what is certain is that this this resource will still be there. As a result of today’s announcement, our Energy Strategy for Scotland will set out an energy mix for the future that does not include UCG. The position I have announced on UCG is a clear validation of the evidence-based approach this government is taking and I thank Professor Gemmell for his work in preparing the report.”

Mr Wheelhouse has written to the UK Government, requesting that it issues no further UCG licences in Scotland and that existing licences are revoked. The Scottish Government will continue to use planning powers available to it to ensure UCG applications do not receive planning or environmental permission.

Professor Campbell Gemmell, Professor of Environment Research, Policy, Regulation and Governance at the University of Glasgow, said: “I have consulted widely, including with industry, communities, regulators, academic specialists and NGOs, and studied the available evidence on the technologies and impacts involved in Underground Coal Gasification, including the variety of international experience. It is extremely difficult to conceive of UCG progressing into use at this time. Despite there being few longer-term operations at scale to consider, and no directly comparable operations in siting, regulatory and policy terms, there is both a history of incidents of pollution and losses of containment.

“In my view, the Scottish Government has responded appropriately to the available evidence on this technology.

“Should industry wish to progress this technology at scale here or overseas at some future date, several key factors would need to be addressed, including managing the potential impact of the greenhouse gases produced. The onus would also clearly be with the industry to demonstrate and provide evidence that it can operate to the high environmental standards that the government and public should expect.”

North and Leith MSP Ben Macpherson has welcomed the announcement. He said: “Based on the evidence presented, it is absolutely right that the Scottish Government has blocked Underground Coal Gasification from taking place in Scotland.

“There are very few examples of UCG operating commercially, and where the technology has been used there has been serious environmental impacts including soil contamination and exposure to toxins. Mistakes in Australia were so bad that a number of prosecutions have been brought.

“This expert report also states that, if UCG was operated at scale, the resulting carbon and greenhouse gas emissions would make meeting our climate change targets much more difficult if not impossible.

“Carbon emissions would be particularly problematic without accompanying storage technology to mitigate its affects – while the Tories might be happy to bang the drum for UCG they should remember the utter betrayal of the UK Government who u-turned on their plans to invest in Carbon Capture in Scotland.”