Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has set out that Scottish Government funding will be deployed to boost skills and employment opportunities for workers facing redundancy at ExxonMobil’s ethylene plant at Mossmorran.
Options being considered include apprenticeships, a college-led training programme and investing in new employment opportunities at the plant.
A taskforce led by Fife Council meets for the first time today in response to the planned closure. The Scottish Government will use the meeting to further understand the needs of the workforce and local community to inform its decisions regarding the deployment of the £9 million investment.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “This is a worrying time for the workforce at Mossmorran and they rightly expect urgent action. I met worker representatives earlier this month to assure them that we are doing all we can to support them and the wider community.
“We have allocated £9 million over three years in our draft Budget to help staff and communities affected by the plant’s closure. Today’s meeting is an opportunity to engage with the UK Government, Fife Council, unions and local partners to agree how we best support individuals impacted by ExxonMobil’s decision.
“In the meantime, our Partnership Action for Continuing Employment initiative is providing skills and employability support for workers.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes is to host a summit following a visit to the Exxon Mobil plant at Mosmorran with Scottish Enterprise’s Chief Executive, Adrian Gillespie, on Tuesday.
This visit and summit follows the Deputy First Minister’s announcement to the Scottish Parliament last week that she will convene a taskforce with Scottish Enterprise
Hundreds of staff have been told that their jobs are at risk as the petrochemical company prepares to close part of the site in February.
The Deputy Fist Minister has already called for the UK Government to take urgent action as ExxonMobil has been clear in its announcement that the current economic and policy environment does not create a competitive future for its site.
The summit will be an opportunity to explore how to ensure everything possible is being done to support workers and secure a future for the site.
Invited to the summit will be unions GMB and Unite, the site owners ExxonMobil, Scottish Enterprise, the UK Government, Fife Council, Fife College, the Scottish National Investment Bank and local MSPs.
The Deputy First Minister said: “Our immediate priority is to explore way to retain employment at the site and support the workforce through this period of uncertainty.
“I look forward to visiting the site and engaging with workforce representatives and the company. The Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise will join me, so that we can move at pace to explore new investment opportunities.
“Last week, I informed the Scottish Parliament that I would convene a task force to consider new opportunities for the Mossmorran site and to prioritise the workforce. Since then I have engaged extensively with the Unions and Scottish Enterprise.
“I will announce further information about the taskforce imminently.
“In the meantime, this summit will bring together all the key stakeholders and I am keen that we consider every possible option to support the workforce at this distressing time.
“The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise are committed to doing all we can to support the people impacted by this and to ensure we do not lose the vital skills base of the Mossmorran workforce in Fife.”
Robert Deavy, GMB Scotland senior organiser, said: “Every possible option to protect the future of this plant must be on the table on Tuesday and pursued with absolute urgency.
“Everyone involved in these discussions must share our commitment and determination to protect these workers’ jobs and safeguard their communities in every way possible.
“Scotland cannot afford to lose the jobs, skills and industrial capability of Mossmorran and these talks must recognise that and then quickly deliver effective action.”
Cliff Bowen of Unite, said: “Unite the Union welcomes this important intervention by the Deputy First Minister to convene a summit to tackle the issues arising as a result of ExxonMobil’s decision to close the Fife Ethylene Plant.
“Both Governments now must take decisive action to support the workforce that mitigate, and hopefully prevent, the consequences of this decision. Unite members need the support of all parties to secure their future.”
A new report has revealed that the City of Edinburgh Council’s own pension fund has £164,691,111 invested in climate-polluting fossil fuel companies. The revelations come despite the council declaring a climate emergency in 2019 and committing to become a net-zero carbon city by 2030.
The report found that overall in Scotland, £1.2 billion was invested in fossil fuel companies by council pension funds. None of the 20 Scottish councils that have declared a climate emergency have taken action to end their investments in the coal, oil and gas firms chiefly responsible for driving this crisis.
The report by Friends of the Earth Scotland, Platform and Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland was compiled from Freedom of Information requests.
Lothian Pension Fund is the second largest local government pension scheme in Scotland and administers the pensions of 84,000 members. (4) Lothian is operated by the City of Edinburgh Council on behalf of East Lothian, West Lothian and Midlothian.
Lothian Pension Fund invests £771,000 in Exxon and £1.47 million in Royal Dutch Shell. The companies are co-owners of the Mossmorran plants in Fife, which is Scotland’s third largest climate polluter. The Scottish Government is currently considering launching a public inquiry after 5,000 complaints were submitted about the flaring, air and noise pollution from the site.
The pension fund also invests £9.1 million in the Italian oil company, Eni. Both Eni and Exxon are involved in the construction of a major gas export development in Mozambique which is associated with increased militarisation and violence in the region, and led to the displacement of local communities.
Strathclyde Pension Fund was the worst offender in Scotland after being found to have £508 million invested in companies such as Shell, BP and Exxon. This is despite Glasgow hosting the UN climate conference later this year and Councillors declaring a climate emergency in May 2019.
As fossil fuel company stocks have fallen in value in recent years, local councils have lost out. £194 million of value was wiped off the oil and gas investments of the Scottish council pensions between 2017-20 with the Strathclyde Pension Fund alone losing £46 million and Lothian Pension Fund losing £36 million.
Across the UK, total fossil fuel investments in the pension funds stood at £9.9 billion – an average of £1,450 per scheme member.
Over half of Scotland’s universities have committed to divest from fossil fuel companies, including Edinburgh, Stirling and Dundee Universities, alongside local government funds in Southwark, Islington, Lambeth, Waltham Forest, and Cardiff.
Alan Munro from local campaign group Divest Lothian said: “We all deserve a future worth retiring for, but continued investment in fossil fuels by our politicians and local councils threaten that future, both here in the Lothians and around the world.
“We’ve been campaigning for some time for the Lothian Pension Fund to make a strong commitment to climate action and divest from the fossil fuel companies. Public institutions have a moral duty to put the long-term well-being of their communities first.
“This recent report shows that, up to present, the Lothian Pension Fund has not heeded our calls for divestment. As Scotland prepares to host the UN COP26 Climate conference in November, the fund has an opportunity to show climate leadership and invest more in renewable energy and other sustainable and ethical sectors so that we can create a better future.”
Ric Lander, Divestment Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, commented: “Many local authorities have declared a climate emergency and have plans in place to bring down emissions from transport, buildings and waste.
“Pension fund investments are currently working against this progress by continuing to back the ageing fossil fuel economy. Local councillors have the opportunity to show leadership on climate action by telling fund managers to divest from fossil fuels.
“Scottish council pensions are directly invested in the continued search for new fossil fuels through their ownership of companies like Shell and BP. This drive is undermining efforts to curb the climate emergency here in Scotland and doing untold damage to vulnerable communities around the world.”
Stephen Smellie is Deputy Convenor of UNISON Scotland, who are the largest union representing local government pension fund members. He reacted: “It is disappointing that the people who manage the pension funds of local government workers are oblivious to the climate crisis that is facing us.
“Workers care deeply about a sustainable future for their children, and if pension funds consulted with the people whose money they are investing they would know that. Instead, they continue to be part of the climate crisis problem rather than being part of the solution that they could be if they increased investments in sustainable alternatives.
“The value of the fossil fuel investments is high but only a small percentage of the funds’ overall investments so there is no financial justification for maintaining investments in coal, fracking or further fossil fuel exploitation.”
“There is a moral and ethical case for divesting from polluting fossil fuels. But there is also a firm financial case to remove workers’ pension funds from investments that will lose value as the world moves to a low-carbon economy which is less dependent on fossil fuels.”
‘Unplanned flaring’ during ExxonMobil’s Mossmorran restart is a reminder of why short and medium term solution are critical, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said yesterday.
SEPA advised that early indications suggested that the near four hours of flaring was a result of a problem with one of the process units and reduced capacity of ground flares. The agency understands the restart is likely to continue into the weekend and SEPA advised it will continue daily regulatory updates.
The agency, which had regulatory, noise and air monitoring capabilities deployed across the incident, said it heard clearly the level of community anxiety caused by Thursday night’s flaring event.
Initial data collected by the agency suggests no breach of UK Air Quality Standard. 28 SEPA Air Quality Reports, including weekly reports, available at sepa.org.uk/mossmorran
SEPA said it was focused on the rapid conclusion of its ongoing regulatory investigation to an evidential standard and that to avoid any delay, Thursday night’s flaring would be reviewed following outcome of current investigation.
The agency advised that the situation was a reminder of why short and medium term solutions are so critical. The approach includes noise reducing flare tips being installed in 2020 and 2021 and planning, design then delivery of new ground flare capacity afterwards.
Chris Dailly, SEPA’s Head of Environmental Performance (above), said: “Thursday’s unplanned flaring during ExxonMobil Chemical’s restart at Mossmorran is a real reminder of why short and medium term solutions are critical to addressing the root causes of unacceptable flaring.
“While elevated flaring is a possibility during restart it was not expected last night. Once again we heard clearly and powerfully the very real concerns and frustrations of local communities.
“We think it’s important to be clear on the causes of the flaring in the final stage of this restart. We know people also want information on our monitoring. Since last year SEPA has had monitoring points around the site.
“Initial data suggests that whilst clearly there was elevated flaring, there was no breach of UK Air Quality Standard. We publish the data we collect on a weekly basis and now some 28 detailed reports are available.
“We accept that flaring is causing people worry, anxiety and stress. That’s why our firm focus is on addressing the root-causes of ‘unacceptable flaring’ and making flaring an exception rather than routine, which is currently not the case.
“The short and medium-term investment we’re requiring the operators to make, from noise reducing flare tips in 2020 and 2021 and planning, designing then delivering new ground flare capacity will make a real difference to local communities.
“We appreciate communities want action, not words which is why we’re focused on rapid conclusion of regulatory investigation to an evidential standard and to the next steps in driving systemic change at Mossmorran.
“We’ll provide more information as quickly as possible and would encourage anyone impacted to report any concerns at www.sepa.org.uk/report so these are formally reviewed and considered by specialist officers.“
ExxonMobil Chemical Limited and Shell U.K. Limited are not currently using all Best Available Techniques for flaring.
ExxonMobil Chemical Limited proposed timescales to increase capacity and accessibility to ground flares unacceptable.
Shell U.K. Limited has not sufficiently demonstrated that proposed principles, approach and level of upgrade to the plant would achieve BAT and are therefore unacceptable.
SEPA will move within seven days to vary operating permits to include required timescales for the implementation of BAT, and the provision of further detail required.
SEPA’s complex regulatory investigation to an evidential standard involving specialist technical, regulatory and enforcement officers will conclude by end November 2019, subject to no new lines of enquiry being uncovered during this phase.
SEPA confirmed on Thursday that it will fully investigate the current incident.
Local residents are set for up to five days of flaring as Exxonmobil has informed residents that essential maintainance and repair work will take place this week. Community campaigners are questioning whether the Mossmorran site is too old to operate safely. Continue reading Community braced for five days of flaring at Mossmorran
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is investigating the ongoing flaring from ExxonMobil Chemical Limited at the Mossmorran petrochemical plant in Fife following hundreds of complaints.
