Friends of the Earth Scotland – Page 6 – The NEN

City council votes to end Lothian Pension Fund fossil fuel investment

Climate campaigners have welcomed yesterday’s council decision to pass a motion calling on the £8 billion Lothian Pension Fund to end its investments in fossil fuel companies that are driving the climate crisis.

The motion, tabled by SNP councillors Vicky Nicolson and Marco Biagi, and seconded by Adam McVey (SNP), calls on the Lothian Pension Fund to protect the long-term interests of its members by removing its investments from fossil fuel companies that are not shifting their business toward renewable energy.

Last month, East Lothian councillors voted unanimously in favour of ending the Lothian Pension Fund’s fossil fuel investments.

The Lothian Pension Fund, administered by The City of Edinburgh Council, invests an estimated £229 million in fossil fuel companies which are driving climate breakdown, including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Equinor.

Oil giant Equinor is currently planning to develop the Rosebank oilfield to the west of Shetland – the largest undeveloped oil and gas field in the UK which contains over 500 million barrels of oil.

Eva Gallova, Divest Lothian campaigner from Edinburgh, said: “Edinburgh councillors, having rightly declared a climate emergency in 2019 and committed to becoming a net zero city by 2030, today acted on these promises and showed their constituents that these were not just empty words.

“Divesting the Lothian Pension Fund from fossil fuels would cut the Council’s ties with an industry hell-bent on stymying climate action and taking us on a path which can only lead to more death & destruction.

“The members of the Lothian Pension Fund, especially the younger members, should have prospects for a future worth retiring into and this will not be possible if our councils continue investing in companies like BP, Shell and Equinor that are planning massive expansions in their climate-wrecking oil and gas production. It’s time for the Lothian Pension Fund to protect pensions and the planet by ending its investments in fossil fuels.”

Sally Clark, divestment campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “It is very encouraging that City of Edinburgh councillors have voted to support ending the Lothian Pension Fund’s investments in planet-wrecking fossil fuels.

“With the UN Secretary General warning last week at COP27 that we need to massively invest in renewables and end our addiction to fossil fuels in order to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees, it has never been more urgent for councils to break their ties with the coal, oil and gas companies that are on course to trigger climate catastrophe with their expansion plans.

“We now need the Lothian Pension Fund to listen to councillors and invest in climate solutions like social housing and renewable energy that will protect pensions and benefit communities here in Scotland and around the world.”

The Lothian Pension Fund is the second largest local government pension scheme in Scotland and administers the pension funds of over 92,000 members from four local authorities in the Lothians. The pension fund also manages the pensions of 90 employers, including Scottish Water, Edinburgh Napier University, VisitScotland and Heriot-Watt University.

The motion from City of Edinburgh councillors comes as part of a global push to divest money from fossil fuels.

To date, 1,552 institutions worth $40.50 trillion have committed to divest, including the Welsh Parliament, the London Boroughs of Islington and Lambeth, Cardiff Council, and 100 UK universities including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Black Friday: Resist the frenzy for the sake of the planet, say campaigners

Environmental campaigners say we should resist the shopping frenzy this Black Friday for the sake of the planet.

Tomorrow (Friday 25 November), retail giants like Amazon will be slashing their prices in an attempt to boost their sales – but campaigners are asking people to consider the costs to the environment before they make unnecessary purchases this year.

Surveys have shown that huge numbers of people regret the purchases that are made in the rush of the sales, and that they find it a stressful experience. Smaller retailers with more sustainable, local, personal services find they can’t compete with the artificially low prices of retail giants. Last year, 85% of independent retailers opted out of Black Friday.

Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Changing our culture of consumption is an essential part of tackling the climate crisis. Saying no to phoney Black Friday deals is an important way in which we, as more informed consumers, can take back power.

“Big retailers pressurise people to buy more in an effort to boost their sales. This drive towards consuming more means that even more resources are extracted from nature, generating climate-wrecking emissions.

“To really tackle over-consumption, governments need to hold big business to account. The Scottish Government is bringing in a circular economy law next year which must force producers and retailers to accept responsibility for their planet destroying single-use products, and to make reuse and recycling cheaper and easier for people.”

The Scottish Government consulted on a new circular economy law earlier this year. A draft of the bill is expected in early 2023. Scotland’s material use is more than double the sustainable limit, and 82% of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from the products and services we buy.

Environmental campaigners welcome Scottish Government statement on oil and gas licences

Environmental campaigners have welcomed yesterday’s statement from Minister for Environment and Land Reform Mairi McAllan that the Scottish Government “does not agree with the UK Government issuing new oil and gas licences”.

This came in response to a parliamentary question from Mark Ruskell MSP about whether the Rosebank oil field, and new licensing, should be allowed to go ahead, given the First Minister’s previous opposition to the Cambo oil field last year.

Ms McAllan said that the licensing of new oil and gas extraction is not the answer to either the cost of energy crisis or the climate crisis. The UK Government recently opened a licensing round which could issue over 100 licences for fossil fuel companies to explore the UK Continental Shelf for new oil and gas fields.

The Rosebank oil field already has a licence, and would be three times the size of Cambo. Equinor, the Norwegian oil company that wants to develop Rosebank, is currently awaiting approval from the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on its environmental statement before the project can begin development.

Rosebank would not extract its first oil until late 2026, and the majority of the oil extracted would be exported and sold on the open market, doing little for the UK’s energy security.

Campaigners welcomed Ms McAllan’s statement as a strengthening of the Scottish Government’s position on new oil and gas.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s oil and gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “Mairi McAllan is completely right to say that new oil and gas extraction isn’t the answer to the cost of living crisis or the climate crisis.

“Millions of families are being pushed into fuel poverty by greedy oil companies for short-term profits. Meanwhile climate science is clear that there can be no new oil and gas licensing if we are to avoid truly catastrophic warming.

“This is the furthest the Scottish Government has gone to date in its opposition to new licensing, and Ministers must now pressure the UK Government to abandon its climate-wrecking oil expansion plans, starting by rejecting the plans to develop Rosebank. The Scottish Government must cement this position in the forthcoming Energy Strategy, putting an end date on fossil fuels and setting out the framework for a managed and just phase out of oil and gas within this decade.

“The Scottish Government’s opposition to new oil and gas extraction will make Rosebank a more risky investment, so Equinor should really think again.

“If Rosebank were allowed to go ahead, it would produce the same amount of climate-wrecking pollution as the annual emissions of 28 low-income countries combined.

“Approving it would fly in the face of climate science, which is clear that allowing any new fossil fuel extraction will take us past globally agreed climate targets.”

COP27 closes with Loss & Damage Fund victory – and fossil fuel hypocrisy

The UN climate summit COP27 came to a close today (20/11/22), with a historic win on Loss and Damage but with staggering hypocrisy from the UK, EU and UK on fossil fuels, according to environmental campaigners.

On the Loss and Damage fund victory, Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns Mary Church said: “Securing a Loss and Damage fund is a huge victory for global South countries who stood strong and united in the face of dirty tricks by the rich historical polluters who are resisting taking responsibility for the crisis they caused.

“Whether these global North countries will actually stump up the money needed to resource the fund is another question, given their abject failure to deliver on other longstanding finance commitments.

“Civil society played a vital role in their advocacy and solidarity with global South countries on this all important issue, leaving the US, EU and UK with no cover for their diversionary tactics. People power matters, we can and must keep fighting for the better world we know is possible, because world leaders aren’t going to make it without us.”

India initiated a call for language to be included on the ‘equitable phase down all fossil fuels’, not just coal, and the issue generated significant attention during the last days of the summit – but the Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan simply repeats the text from last year’s Glasgow Climate Pact on the ‘phase down of unabated coal’, letting global North countries who tend to be less reliant on coal off the hook, and with the massive loophole that ‘unabated’ brings in allowing coal projects that are ‘carbon capture and storage ready’.

In their speeches to the closing plenary this morning, the UK, US and EU devoted substantial time to ‘calling out’ the lack of progress on fossil fuel phase out in the text, despite their own fossil fuel expansion plans.

Church continued: “The hypocrisy we witnessed at these climate talks from rich historical polluters on the issue of fossil fuel phase out is staggering. There is nothing to stop countries from phasing out fossil fuels, and yet the UK and the US in particular are doing the opposite with their vast expansion plans.

“Alok Sharma must take his table thumping on fossil fuel phase out back home and demand the UK Government overturn their climate trashing plans for North Sea oil and gas expansion and to reject the new coal mine planned in Cumbria.

“The Scottish Government too must turn its climate leadership on the international stage into concrete actions at home to get back on track to meeting its climate targets. It must clarify its position on oil and gas and set an end date for fossil fuels within this decade in order to have any chance of delivering on our fair share of climate action.”

As the climate summit closes, British prisoner of conscience Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s release has still not been secured and his situation remains extremely precarious.

Church continued: “There can be no climate justice without human rights, and we stand in solidarity with British citizen Alaa And-El Fattah and all prisoners of conscience.

“The UK Government has failed to use its abundant leverage with the Egyptian Government to secure Alaa’s release. The spotlight must not move on when COP27 is over. We will not forget you.”

Commenting on the conclusion of COP27 in Egypt, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

“COP27 has finally seen an acknowledgement by developed countries that the people least responsible for global warming are the ones suffering its worst consequences and that we have an obligation to support those experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis in the here and now.

“The agreement to establish a fund for loss and damage is truly groundbreaking and is a testament to 30 years of hard campaigning by the global south and civil society. I am pleased that Scotland, in being the first developed country ever to make a financial contribution, has been able to play a small part in that journey working with others over the last twelve months to build the momentum that has led to today’s decision.

“There remains a lot of detail to be worked out over the next year ahead of COP28, but from the inclusion of loss and damage on the agenda, to the agreement to establish a fund, this COP has delivered a real breakthrough for vulnerable and developing countries.

“It is deeply disappointing that the recognition of loss and damage has not been matched by greater action to prevent a worsening of the climate crisis. Keeping 1.5 alive and delivering the fastest possible transition away from fossil fuels is key to preventing greater loss and damage in the future.

“Alongside loss and damage we needed to see progress on adaptation and mitigation, on the submission of new national contributions, a pathway to 2030 and a strengthening of the language of the Glasgow Pact.

“It is simply not good enough that countries failed to make progress on that agenda, and that there has been such a strong push back on action we all know is needed if 1.5 is to remain truly within reach. It is vitally important that countries recommit themselves to doing everything they can to ensure we keep 1.5 alive and to building a coalition ahead of COP28 that protects and drives progress against any further push back.

“Despite that disappointment, and the challenges faced by civil society in having their voice heard in Egypt, the breakthrough on loss and damage is what I hope COP27 will be remembered for, and that is a vital step forward for the developing world.”

Missed Opportunity? Scotland’s new Planning Framework ‘undermined by reliance on climate techno-fixes’

Environmental campaigners have said that while the new National Planning Framework 4 is a step in the right direction in tackling the climate emergency it is seriously undermined by an over reliance on unrealistic techno-fixes.

The updated NPF4, laid in the Scottish Parliament today, sets out to tackle the climate and nature emergency. It gives Councils much needed tools to prioritise sustainable transport, has a greater emphasis on the reduction and reuse of materials, and reduces the risk that vast swathes of the country will be opened up for dodgy carbon offsetting schemes.

However, the Scottish Government has failed to rule out new fossil fuel infrastructure in the planning framework which prioritises controversial technologies and so-called negative emissions technologies (NETs) such as carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.

The NPF4’s reliance on NETs is in contradiction to the Scottish Government’s own Climate Change Plan monitoring report which states that there has been: ‘No public commitment to date by a commercial operator to employ a NETs model for a single large power station in Scotland. Given lead in times for development of such a facility and proposals for CCS deployment for the Peterhead CCGT power project, it is unlikely that a new NETs power facility will be developed in the 2020s.‘

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “While the emphasis on tackling the climate and nature emergencies is welcome, this is a real missed opportunity by the Scottish Government to rule out any more infrastructure for the fossil fuels that are driving us to extinction.

“This plan sets out what developments are going to be prioritised over the next decade and it’s absolutely crucial that we transition away from fossil fuels over that same period.

“Despite this, there are some welcome improvements to the planning framework including much needed tools for local councils to prioritise sustainable transport, a greater emphasis on the reduction and reuse of materials, and the reduced risk that vast swathes of the country will be opened up for dodgy carbon offsetting schemes.

“The overall direction of travel is seriously undermined by continued over reliance on so-called negative emissions technologies like carbon capture and costly, inefficient hydrogen. The longer the Scottish Government falls for industry spin and the fantasy that we can solve the climate crisis without ending our use of fossil fuels, the harder it will be to deliver a just transition to a renewable energy economy.

“This plan puts some important policies on the table, but due to the urgency of the climate crisis, the time for half measures has long since passed.”

The new NPF4 is published as world leaders meet in Sharm El-Sheikh for the annual UN climate negotiations.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure was ‘ moral and economic madness’.

Planning for net zero

Plan for future developments ‘will help combat climate change’

Developments which reduce carbon emissions to tackle climate change and restore nature would be promoted under finalised proposals for long term planning reform.

The revised draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) sets out sustainable policies against which planning applications would be assessed for the next decade.

It has been tabled in the Scottish Parliament against the backdrop of crucial intergovernmental climate talks at COP27 in Egypt and seeks to deliver a new and bold direction, with a shift in culture and approach to planning in Scotland.

Proposals in NPF4 include:

enabling more renewable energy generation, outside National Parks and National Scenic Areas, to support the transition away from reliance on fossil fuels
supporting emerging low-carbon and zero emissions technologies – including hydrogen and carbon capture – and developments on land that unlock the transformative potential of offshore renewable energy, such as expansion of the electricity grid. Waste incineration facilities would be highly unlikely to receive permission
facilitating creation of cycling or walking routes, low carbon transport, more green spaces and opportunities for play, culture and tourism
helping rural communities grow by enabling more local homes and encouraging a more diverse rural economy
regenerating city and town centres to help them adapt to economic change while enabling people to access shops, schools and workplaces within a 20 minute walk or cycle
adopting a planned and evidence-based approach to delivering good quality and affordable homes that benefit communities.

Planning Minister Tom Arthur said: “The window of opportunity to act to reduce emissions and adapt to already locked in changes is narrowing. Our statutory and moral obligation to tackle climate change means change is necessary and urgent.

“This final version of the Framework makes clear that we won’t compromise on climate change. It also clarifies what is to be delivered, and how. And it is now clear through the weighting to be applied to different policies, that the climate and nature crises are the priority.

“It is timely that we have tabled final proposals during COP27, as we set out to do when Glasgow hosted COP26 last year. This shows that Scotland’s ambition and commitment to delivering on international calls for action is unwavering.

“There is now a clear expectation of the role that planning must play in delivering the expansion of renewable energy needed to realise the just transition from reliance on fossil fuels.

“This Framework creates the foundation upon which to build the fairer, greener Scotland we want to see for the benefit of future generations.”

Read the Minister’s statement in full here

COP27 Climate Talks: UK & Scottish Governments must ‘set an end date for fossil fuels’ to meet goals

+ UN warns world on track for catastrophic 2.8C of heating
+ Call for Scotland to finally join global Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance
+ UK Gov’t urged to ‘Free Alaa’ from Egyptian prison
+ Scottish Climate March planned for Edinburgh

Ahead of the UN climate talks in Egypt, campaigners have issued a warning to the UK and Scottish Governments that they must ‘set an end date’ for oil and gas if the world is to stay within agreed climate limits.

The UN recently warned that the world was on course for a catastrophic 2.8C of climate warming by the end of this century, saying that emissions must fall significantly by 2030 if we are to stay within agreed climate limits. However the UK Government is opening new oil and gas fields, encouraging companies to explore for more fossil fuels and briefly tried to bring back fracking.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who will join the talks in Egypt, said at COP26 that Scotland would work towards becoming part of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance – a group of nations who have committed to a managed phase out of oil and gas in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

One year on this commitment has not been made. The forthcoming Scottish Energy Strategy must establish a phase out of oil and gas for any chance of meeting our climate targets.

Demonstrations are all but banned in Egypt, which has a dire track record on human rights. Consequently there will not be any mass protests during the talks but instead Egyptian activists along with allies across African countries and the Arab world, have called for a global mobilisation to draw attention to demands for climate justice and human rights.

Edinburgh will host a Climate Justice March on Saturday 12 November as part of this Global Day of Action during COP27.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “In the 12 months since COP26 ended we’ve seen yet again the devastating impacts of global heating at only 1.1C of warming – 30 million people flooded in Pakistan, famine across east Africa, wildfire and drought in the UK during the summer heatwave, and thousands of premature deaths from that same heatwave.

“Politicians did a lot of backslapping at COP26 with the UK presidency claiming to have kept the goal of 1.5C alive but these are empty words without the action to deliver on them. Over the last year the UK Government has actively made the climate crisis worse as it opened up new oil fields, tried to bring back fracking and is still considering opening a new coal mine.

“The UK and the Scottish Governments need to set an end date for fossil fuels well within the decade and redouble efforts for a fair transition away to a renewable powered economy, with affordable heat and transport for all.

“For COP27 to have any chance of success the talks need to see rich historical polluters like the UK come to the table willing to deliver their fair share of climate action, which means deep and rapid cuts to climate emissions in line with our responsibility for causing the crisis. A fair outcome would also include paying our climate debt to those nations who have done the least to cause the crisis and yet find themselves on the sharpest ends of its extreme impacts.

“Yet none of the big historical polluters including the UK is committing to anything near what is needed or owed. Instead, governments and corporations are greenwashing business as usual and relying on fantasy techno-fixes like carbon capture and storage and hydrogen to save the day.”

Commenting on the human rights situation in Egypt, and the ongoing hunger strike of British-Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, one of Egypt’s highest profile prisoners of conscience who has been in prison for most of the last 8 years, Church continued: “The human rights situation in Egypt is atrocious, and we stand in solidarity with Egyptians and call for the release of all political prisoners and the opening up of civic space.

“There can be no climate justice without human rights and without public participation in shaping the transition to a world freed from fossil fuels.

“The UK Government must not return from Egypt without British citizen and human rights defender Abdel Abd El Fattah who is currently on hunger strike in an Egyptian jail for the so-called crime of sharing a Facebook post.” 

FoES Head of Campaigns Mary Church will be attending the second week of COP27.

The First Minister will today call on world leaders to deliver on the commitments they made in the Glasgow Climate Pact, as she attends the first full day of the COP27 climate conference in Egypt.

The First Minister will take part in an all-female panel discussion on financing decarbonisation with government leaders, including the Prime Minister of Barbados.

The First Minister will also meet representatives of countries from the Global South to hear their experiences of the climate crisis and what they want to see delivered at the climate talks.

Ahead of the formal opening of COP27 the First Minister met on Sunday with the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Simon Stiell, Director General of the International Organization for Migration Antonio Vitorino and Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados.

The First Minister said: “COP26 in Glasgow delivered real progress on tackling the climate crisis, with strengthened commitments to curb emissions, build resilience to climate change, and provide the finance needed to reach net zero. World leaders must use the next two weeks to take meaningful steps to deliver on the promises made in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

“We are gathering against a tense backdrop and the geopolitical landscape has changed significantly in the last year, not least as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. However the climate crisis has not gone away and the answer to many of the global crises we face, such as energy security and food shortages, lies in going faster.

“For many countries, particularly in the global south, this must be the COP where the global north not only delivers on our promises to finance adaptation and mitigation, but recognises the need to address the loss and damage experienced by countries already impacted by climate change.

“Last year, Scotland became the first developed nation to pledge finance to address loss and damage and others have now followed suit, including Wallonia and Denmark. This shows just how important the action of smaller governments can be, and I know many countries and campaigners hope to see other countries, particularly in the north, step up and make COP in Egypt the loss and damage COP.”

‘Oily’ Roses expose toxic relationships around Rosebank oil field

Environmental campaigners have been highlighting companies and groups connected to Norwegian oil giant Equinor by delivering roses in order to expose their toxic relationships with the proposed Rosebank oil field.

Campaigners yesterday delivered bunches of ‘oil’ covered roses to locations in Glasgow and Edinburgh representing some form of financial or political influence over whether the Rosebank oil field goes ahead.

These included the Norwegian consulates in both cities; the UK Government building, Barclays bank and the First Minister’s residence Bute House in Edinburgh; and Glasgow City Chambers.

+ Equinor holds a 40% stake in the Rosebank field and is majority owned by the Norwegian state.
+ Barclays is one of Equinor’s corporate financiers providing them with $2.46 billion of backing since 2015.
+ The Strathclyde Pension Fund, which runs Glasgow City Council pensions investments, holds £9million in shares in Equinor.
+ Nicola Sturgeon has failed so far to explicitly oppose the Rosebank field, despite objecting to the smaller Cambo development in late 2021.

Rosebank contains over 500 million barrels of oil, which if burned would produce the equivalent CO2 emissions of the 28 lowest-income countries combined. Ahead of the COP27 climate talks, the UN has warned that the world was on course for a catastrophic 2.8C of climate warming by the end of this century.

The UN report ‘The Closing Window’ demanded that emissions should fall 45% by 2030 if we are to stay within agreed climate limits.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Oil and Gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “Equinor is propped up by governments, investors and pension funds, but by drawing attention to these toxic relationships we can undermine their reputation and highlight the dangers posed by the vast Rosebank project.

“Today’s deliveries show that support for Equinor and Rosebank is all around us, and these links must be broken if this climate-wrecking development is to be stopped.

“Climate science is clear that the development of new oil and gas fields will take us even further past safe climate limits. Lending financial or political support for new fossil fuels is climate denial.

“Governments, banks and investors urgently need to redirect support away from the fossil fuel industry that is driving the death and destruction across the world and instead invest in ramping up affordable, reliable renewable energy.”

Separate analysis has shown that developing the Rosebank field will cost UK taxpayers over £100 million, due to a deliberate loophole in the UK Government’s windfall tax.

Equinor recently declared profits of £21 billion for the third quarter of 2022.

Friends of the Earth: Scottish Government ‘shuts door on coal’

Environmental campaigners have welcomed the news that the Scottish Government’s position will be to oppose any future coal extraction.

Minister’s new ‘preferred policy position’ on coal will form part of the forthcoming Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan which will be consulted on later this year. Climate campaigners say that the Strategy must also ‘plot a clear path’ away from oil and gas if the country is to meet its climate commitments.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “It is the right decision for the Scottish Government to want to shut the door on coal once and for all. Climate science is clear that there is no space for any new fossil fuels, let alone the most polluting coal, if we are to avoid truly catastrophic warming.

“This announcement should spell the end for New Age Exploration’s deep coal extraction ambitions in Dumfries and Galloway. It’s simply not reasonable to be contemplating opening new coal mines, given the climate emergency.

“It’s time for Westminster to put an end to coal too, starting by finally rejecting the proposal for a new coal mine in Cumbria.

“At this stage in the climate crisis there is no time left for any new fossil fuels of any kind, so the forthcoming Energy Strategy must also chart a clear path for Scotland to phase out oil and gas within the decade.

“The Scottish Government must seize this opportunity to ensure a fast and fair transition to a reliable, affordable energy system powered by renewables and run in the public interest.”

Friends of the Earth: UK Government ‘sticking two fingers up’ to climate with new oil and gas licenses

Environmental campaigners have reacted angrily to the UK Government plans to increase exploration for new oil and gas fields despite the devastating climate impacts of burning fossil fuels.

They accused politicians of ‘sticking two fingers up’ to scientists calling for an end to fossil fuels to protect the climate. Climate science and energy experts have repeatedly warned that any new oil and gas projects will push the world well past dangerous climate limits.

The North Sea Transition Authority confirmed today that they will invite companies to apply for over 100 licences to explore for more fossil fuels in the North Sea.

The UK Committee on Climate Change said earlier this year that the timeline from the issuing of an exploration licence to production commencing ranges from under a decade to several decades, with an average of around 28 years.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon opposed the controversial Cambo oil field last year, and has since recognised that oil and gas is not a solution to the current price crisis, but has so far stopped short of opposing the Jackdaw or Rosebank fields.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Oil and Gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said:
“By encouraging greedy fossil fuel companies to keep looking for more fossil fuels, the UK Government is denying the reality of the climate emergency.

“It is sticking two fingers up to climate scientists and energy experts who have made it clear that there should be no new oil and gas if we are to remain within agreed climate limits.

“The devastating climate impacts people are enduring with floods in Pakistan, Hurricane Ian in the US and the scorching heatwave in the UK are being driven by burning fossil fuels. The UK Government clearly doesn’t care about the impact its decisions will have on vulnerable people and communities around the world.

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

On the Scottish Government’s role:

“The Scottish Government must be willing to stand up to these reckless plans to expand fossil fuels in the North Sea. These announcements risk locking 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.”

On the ‘Climate Compatibility Checkpoint’:

“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.

Air quality watchdog says councils aren’t doing enough to protect health

Campaigners have welcomed a report from an independent body that reveals air pollution in Scotland isn’t being dealt with.

Friends of the Earth Scotland say the report, from Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) – the body that scrutinises environmental law – shows that air pollution problems go far beyond the biggest cities and that councils and the Scottish Government are failing to address it.

This morning (Thursday 29 September) the report was presented in the Scottish Parliament, and the Scottish Government will now respond to the report’s findings.

The recommended measures from ESS will require local authorities to prepare plans for improving air quality in local areas with specific actions and dates.

Scotland has breached air pollution legal limits for many years, particularly for nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant from diesel vehicle exhausts.

Gavin Thomson, transport campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “We have known for decades the devastating health impacts caused by pollution from Scotland’s roads.

“Traffic fumes cause heart attacks, strokes, and respiratory problems like asthma. There’s also mounting evidence on the risks to cognitive function from the air we breathe, including links with dementia.

“We have seen very little action to address the huge damage to public health caused by air pollution. The four Low Emission Zones in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen will be completed in 2024, a full 14 years after Scotland first breached legal limits for diesel pollution.

“There are huge gaps in policy and governance that this report from ESS has identified. The report explains that dangerous air pollution problems persist in areas outside our biggest cities. Suburban towns such as Blantyre and Johnstone are highlighted as having recently breached legal limits, so Low Emission Zones in our biggest cities cant solve the problem.

“We need action from the Government and councils to limit car use, bring buses back into public ownership to restore lost routes, and make it much easier and safer to walk and cycle.”

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