New oil and gas drilling is disaster for people and planet
The UK government must reject pressure from the White House for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, say the Scottish Greens.
The call comes as the US Ambassador to the UK, Warren Stephens, has urged the UK to expand drilling operations.
The party’s climate spokesperson, Patrick Harvie said:
“The Trump administration are the last people we should be listening to when it comes to energy security.
“Their climate wrecking policies have handed a blank cheque to polluters. A 'drill baby drill' approach will do nothing to lower household bills, and can only make us more dependent on volatile and dirty fossil fuels.
“The only beneficiaries will be the multibillion pound oil and gas companies that have bankrolled Donald Trump and his party, and who care far more about profits than they do about people or planet.
“None of this is any surprise coming from an Ambassador who has a long history of backing fossil fuels.
“What households and businesses need are bills that come down and stay down, and that means breaking our dependence on oil and gas rather than caving in to a climate change denying White House.
“Green energy is the safest, cheapest, cleanest and most secure energy available, and it is where we should be investing.
“Scotland has a huge renewables potential which can lower bills and create thousands of new jobs for the future.
“What the industry needs is confidence and certainty, and it needs both the UK and Scottish governments to step up, lead the change and put their money where their mouths are.”