UK Government must ignore Trump’s call for North Sea oil drilling
The UK Government must ignore Donald Trump’s ‘century of drilling left’ comments and listen to climate experts, warn Scottish Greens.
The US president claims that more oil and gas exploration by drilling in the North Sea is the only way to bring energy prices down.
His remarks on the UK Government’s energy strategy come as Ofgem announced that the energy price cap would decrease by £129 per year from £1,849 to £1,720 per household.
Trump has a long history of promoting climate conspiracy theories, and his support for more fossil fuel extraction comes despite the warnings of climate and energy experts globally.
Scottish Greens co-leader and spokesperson for net zero, Patrick Harvie MSP, is calling for the Labour government to ignore Trump’s remarks and end our reliance on fossil fuels for good.
Mr Harvie said:
“Household energy bills have been volatile because of our over-reliance on fossil fuels, and it’s critical that both governments cut fossil fuel consumption, increase investment in clean energy, and break the artificial link between gas prices and electricity so that bills come down faster.
"Scotland’s renewable industry is generating cheap, clean, abundant power, but households are not getting the benefit in the bills they pay.
“Donald Trump’s dangerous ideas must be ignored. Climate breakdown already costs the average Scottish household over £3,000 a year. Failure to tackle the climate emergency would accelerate the damage, and keep people dependent on volatile energy prices.
“There’s no surprise that a corrupt billionaire politician is putting the profits of fossil fuel multinationals ahead of the common good.
“We must stick to our net zero targets. We cannot backtrack any further or pander to a climate change denier like Trump, who ignores the extreme harm the fossil fuel industry has caused.
“This Labour government has already shown they will make decisions that harm people; cutting winter fuel payment for pensioners and making disabled people struggle financially. I urge them to do the right thing and ignore the calls of billionaires like Trump who don’t accept scientific reality.
“What households and businesses need are bills that come down and stay down, and that means breaking our dependence on fossil fuels. Household bills are already far too high, with too many people being forced to freeze all winter so they can feed themselves.”
Mr Harvie added:
“Scotland is lucky to have such a vast amount of renewable energy. Jobs in renewables have surpassed oil and gas jobs both in Scotland and across the globe. Climate science experts are providing us with the information to reach net zero. This is the future and we must be ready to welcome it.”