Scottish Greens to force vote condemning Rosebank in climate debate today
The Scottish Greens will today force a vote in Parliament to condemn new fossil fuel production, including Rosebank.
As part of the Scottish Government debate “Scotland’s Commitment to International Climate Justice”, Scottish Greens Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action, Mark Ruskell MSP, has tabled an amendment that would allow the Scottish Parliament to clearly reject Rosebank and further drilling for oil.
The party wants to see Scotland reaffirm its commitments to the Paris Agreement to limit global temperatures, and take the necessary actions to reduce further harm to our climate by transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Mark said:
“The Scottish Government cannot commit to upholding climate justice if it cannot take a public stand on new fossil fuel exploration like Rosebank. That is why I am pushing members across our Parliament to vote today, and reject Rosebank outright.
“We only have to look at the evidence of our drastically changing climate through wildfires all summer, and now extreme weather events like flooding and storms battering our doors this winter to know that something has got to change if we want to reduce these instances.
“Scotland previously committed to the Paris Agreement - one of the main goals of this was to keep global temperatures from rising any higher than 1.5C. We have now surpassed that temperature, and are on track for the hottest ever temperatures recorded that are a risk to life as we know it. It cannot continue, and one of the main actions we can take to roll it back is transitioning away from fossil fuels for good.
“The UK Government has just approved Jackdaw, with the Scottish Government disappointingly welcoming it despite the warnings and court rulings of how unlawful and dangerous it will be for very little payoff. They must not do the same when it comes to Rosebank. This Parliament must stand up and be counted as a force for good on climate action, and today they will have the opportunity to do so by voting to reject Rosebank and any further drilling of our seas.”
Text of Mark’s amendment to motion S7M-01726 in the name of Gillian Martin (Scotland’s Commitment to International Climate Justice)
insert at end "; reaffirms the importance of the Paris Agreement Goals to limit the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C; accepts scientific evidence from the International Energy Agency, United Nations Environment Programme and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shows that new fossil fuel exploration risks exceeding the 1.5°C threshold; believes that new fossil fuel production beyond that which is currently approved, such as the proposed Rosebank oil field, will move the world out of alignment with the Paris Agreement Goals, and supports international dialogue and action on advancing a just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels."