A UK climate group has called on the Scottish Government to “enact a full legal ban” on fracking as part of a raft of recommendations designed to reduce carbon emissions.
Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) have told First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to back a commitment to tackle climate concerns by implementing a radical that “will significantly reduce harmful climate emissions” within the next decade.
It has also called for the government to end support for new North Sea oil and gas.
Friends of the Earth Scotland director, Richard Dixon, said: This week’s Programme for Government is the Scottish Government’s opportunity to deliver on their fine words about the Climate Emergency.
“With school strikes and street protests, the public demand for radical action is enormous and the science is clear that climate emissions must be drastically reduced within the next decade.
“With the eyes of the world expected to focus on Scotland next year for the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, the Scottish Government should put its money where its mouth is on tackling climate change and implement these recommendations.
“The Scottish Government must end its support for the oil and gas companies who want to drill every drop from the North Sea and instead plan a managed phase out of extraction and implement a just transition for those workers and communities currently reliant on this sector.
“The Government can no longer turn a blind eye to the damage caused by the fossil fuels produced just off our shores.”
In May, the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change Roseanna Cunningham told the Scottish Parliament that “the Scottish Government will be placing climate change at the heart of everything that we do”.
At present, currently no fracking ban stands in Scotland, but that a “moratorium” exists to stop the practice.
A spokeswoman for the government said in June that Scottish Ministers were “entering the final stages” of policy making on the issue.
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