‘Greenwashing’, say environmental campaigners
- Prime Minister visits North East Scotland, highlighting the central role it will play in defending the UK against disrupted global energy supplies.
- There he will also meet with key figures in the energy sector and will visit critical infrastructure projects which will help grow the economy, reach Net Zero, and deliver the next generation of highly skilled jobs for young people in the region.
The Prime Minister will today confirm that Scotland will continue to be at the forefront of UK Government plans to strengthen the UK’s long-term energy security.
During a visit to the North East of Scotland, the Prime Minister will highlight the crucial role that the region will play in enhancing and delivering on the UK Government’s commitment to reaching Net Zero in 2050 and enhancing long term energy security for generations to come.
The UK is leading international efforts by setting ambitious net zero commitments, ramping up the transition to clean energy, reducing total greenhouse gas emissions by 32% since 2010, whilst bringing down energy bills and supporting households.
It is expected that the UK Government and energy authorities will go further than before in announcing continued decisive action to:
- Boost the capability of the North Sea industry to transition towards Net Zero;
- Strengthen the foundations of the UK’s future energy mix;
- And create the next generation of highly skilled green jobs.
The Prime Minister will also meet with key energy industry figures and companies at the forefront of delivering the UK’s energy needs, as well as the next generation of highly skilled people who are working on the projects of tomorrow.
The UK Government says the package ‘will also underpin that Scotland remains a cornerstone of government plans for an energy-independent UK, as well demonstrating what can be achieved due to the strength and scale of UK collective action, in defending the public against global energy supplies which have been disrupted and weaponised by Putin’.
Environmental campaigners have condemned the plans, however. Friends of the Earth Scotland regards carbon capture and storage (CCS) as an attempt to ‘greenwash’ the oil industry and pointed to the long history of failure of the technology.
They say that instead of giving more public money to oil firms it should be invested in climate solutions that work today and can improve people’s lives such as public transport and home insulation.
Shell is a key partner in the Acorn project. Last week the fossil fuel giant announced profits of £3.9billion for just the last 3 months, on top of the £32.2 billion profit in 2022. Despite this vast wealth, the Acorn project appears to be totally reliant on further public subsidy to progress.
Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaign Mary Church said: “Carbon capture is a greenwashing tactic by profit obsessed fossil fuel companies to try and keep their climate-wrecking industry in business.
“CCS has a long history of over-promising and under-delivering yet politicians have fallen for the spin rather than face reality that the only solution to the climate crisis is a fast and fair phase out of oil and gas.
“Funding for the Acorn project would be yet another massive public subsidy to oil companies who have been making billions in profits, while ordinary people are struggling to pay the bills.
“Instead of handing more money to polluters, it is time to redirect that investment to climate solutions that we know can deliver emissions cuts and improve peoples’ lives today – such as improving public transport and insulating people’s homes to help with energy bills.”
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