FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been challenged by climate activists over the Cambo North Sea oil field ahead of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow this year.
The Cambo oil field is located to the west of the Shetland Islands, in the North Sea, and drilling for as many as 170 million barrels of oil is expected to begin in 2022 should it get the go-ahead from the UK Government.
Environmental campaigners estimate that the 132 million tonnes of CO2 emissions that could be produced would require an area of land some 1.5 times the size of Scotland to counteract them.
READ MORE: New North Sea oil drilling plans incompatible with climate targets, Greens warn
Climate activists from Green New Deal Rising and the Stop Cambo group challenged the First Minister on why the Scottish Government was not opposing the development more strongly while in Queen's Park as she was attending the Govanhill Carnival in her Glasgow Southside constituency.
Sturgeon was asked if she would oppose the development to which she replied: "It's not an issue for the Scottish Government. We are thinking about all of these things, we are trying to come to the right decision but there's no doubt we should be moving away [from oil drilling].
"So there are hard questions to ask about whether things like that are commensurate and I totally get that. There's some tough things for all of us to address and make decisions on."
WATCH: We and @StopCambo just challenged @theSNP leader @NicolaSturgeon on her refusal to stop the Cambo North Sea oil field.
— Green New Deal Rising (@GNDRising) August 7, 2021
Big corporations profit from dirty energy and politicians like Nicola Sturgeon let them get away with it.
We’re here to put a stop to that. ✊ pic.twitter.com/Q3ilmhkA3C
Pressed further on why she would not oppose the North Sea oil project more vocally, Sturgeon said: "You can have a politician that says to you what you want to hear because you're standing here, or you can have a politician that says: 'I do hear what you say and I've got a lot of sympathy with it, but there's issues as First Minister that I've got to make sure I properly consider'.
"And that's what I'm choosing to do."
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon urges Scots to get vaccinated as she opens Glasgow carnival
Speaking after the incident, campaigner Lauren, 20, who challenged Sturgeon, said: “We are hosting COP26 in my home city this year, yet Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson both have taken nowhere near enough action to meet the commitments already set.
“The Scottish Government can’t call itself a climate leader without opposing the Cambo oil field. How can we trust our governments to tackle the climate crisis when time and time again they refuse to take meaningful action to mitigate its effects?”
She added: “I am genuinely terrified for my future. It makes me so frustrated that when I confront the leader of my country, she refuses to commit to taking action to safeguard the lives of her citizens.
“If we have any hope of mitigating the climate crisis and seeing a fairer society in Scotland, we need a just transition out of oil and gas immediately. We need a Green New Deal now that delivers good green jobs.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We are wholly committed to becoming a net-zero economy by 2045 and, whilst this is ultimately a reserved area, any Scottish Government support for oil and gas businesses operating in the North Sea is conditional upon them contributing to a sustainable and inclusive energy transition, and ensuring a secure energy supply.
“The oil and gas sector can play a positive role in Scotland’s energy transition, helping to design the diverse energy system we need for the future.
“The knowledge and experience of the oil and gas sector and its supply chain will also be important for developing and investing in essential low carbon technologies, such as Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage – a technology that is seen by experts such as the UK Climate Change Committee and International Energy Agency as being vital to achieving Scottish, UK and international climate emissions targets.”
She added: “In 2020 we launched our £62 million Energy Transition Fund to support the oil, gas and energy sectors grow and diversify, accelerating its transition to net-zero emissions.
“Fair Work principles are being applied across projects funded by the Energy Transition Fund, supporting the creation of green jobs and training individuals with the skills they need to ensure a just transition to net-zero with people’s wellbeing at its heart.”
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