John Swinney has accused the Conservatives of not caring about the climate as he clashed with Douglas Ross.
During First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood on Thursday, Mr Swinney was challenged on the SNP’s stance on oil and gas.
The Scottish Government’s current position, as laid out in its draft energy strategy, is that new oil and gas licences – which are approved by the UK Government – should meet a climate compatibility test before being rubber-stamped.
But there have been concerns from environmental activists that the position could be watered down when the final document is published.
Outgoing Scottish Tory leader Mr Ross said the position is “temporary” as he claimed the Government does not support new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
But the First Minister said: “We’ve got a rational and considered process that we’ve argued for, which is that every individual application should be subject to a climate compatibility assessment because there is a journey that we have to make as a country to reach net zero.
“That is inescapable.
“What is clear from the position taken by the Prime Minister, supported by Douglas Ross and the Conservatives, is that they don’t care about the journey on climate.
“They’re not interested in the crisis that we face in the climate emergency, while this Government will take the responsible approach to managing that transition and the challenges of the climate emergency.”
In turn, Mr Ross claimed the Scottish Government and SNP MSPs “don’t care” about jobs in the north east of Scotland supported by the oil and gas sector.
“Whenever a new development is proposed in the North Sea, the SNP oppose it,” he said.
© Scottish Parliament“They oppose every round of new licences granted for the oil and gas sector, in recent years, they have not supported any new fields – not one.
“Whatever John Swinney is claiming today, it’s only a temporary position for the SNP, because their position is actually very clear.
“They don’t and will not stand up for Scotland’s oil and gas industry, they are willing to put tens of thousands of jobs and the north-east economy at risk.”
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