Liz Truss trying to ‘drill her way’ out of energy crisis

Prime Minister Liz Truss has been accused of “climate denial” for her plans to issue more than 100 fresh oil and gas permits.

The claim came as Greens tried to put the SNP on the spot for a reaction to future North Sea exploration.

At Holyrood, Green MSP Mark Ruskell claimed Ms Truss has “taken a wrecking ball to climate commitments” in her first weeks in Downing Street.

He said the UK Government is “pretending they can drill their way out of the energy crisis” at a time of “climate breakdown” across the world.

His remarks come after the prime minister confirmed plans earlier this month to issue new oil and gas licences and predicts more than 100 licences will be awarded.

Mr Ruskell criticised the UK government for “climate denial at its worst” off the back of the move unveiled in the Commons.

Nicola Sturgeon has taken a hard line on oil and gas since the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, where she called for an end to oil and gas exploration.

The first minister says any new projects should be blocked in the absence of the UK Government bringing forward a “robust” climate compatibility test

Responding in parliament, Mr Matheson said unlimited extraction of fossil fuels is “not consistent” with the Scottish Government’s climate obligations.

He told MSPs it is “not the right solution” to the cost-of-living crisis facing families up and down the country.

He added: “Instead of licensing more fossil fuel extraction, the UK Government should be encouraging investment in renewables and supporting a just transition for our energy sector, Scottish households and businesses.”

‘Production will fall off a cliff’

But north-east Tory MSP Liam Kerr criticised the SNP-Green government for failing to provide the political support needed for the sector.

He said: “Without new investment in fields like Cambo and Jackdaw, and indeed political support from the Scottish Government, production will fall off a cliff, jeopardising the just transition and the 90,000 Scottish jobs that will deliver it, and makes us reliant on environmentally worse imports from regimes like Putin’s.”

© Supplied by Liam Kerr

Mr Matheson said the oil and gas sector will continue to play an “important part” in the Scottish economy.

But in a further dig to the UK Government, he said it is “seriously wrong” to give the impression that this can be achieved through “simply extracting more oil and gas”.

Mr Matheson said: “The reality is that will not happen and that’s the impression the UK Government have tried to give with the announcement over the course of the last few days.

“It simply will not work because all the evidence demonstrates it will not deliver the type of output that’s needed to do that.”

The prime minister’s laid out her strategy for scaling up energy sources alongside plans to cap bills at £2,500 a year from October.

But she has so far rejected calls to widen the current windfall tax on the profits of North Sea companies.