DOUGLAS Ross has been labelled a “petulant online troll” over his Cambo oil field letter to the First Minister.
The Scottish Tory leader has been lambasted by Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie for sending a letter to Nicola Sturgeon accusing her of changing her position on the Cambo oil field for political reasons.
Ross sent the letter in response after the First Minister said the UK Government should “reassess” the license for the crude oil field near Shetland.
The Tory leader accused the SNP’s change in position as being “motivated primarily by the constitution, not the climate” and accused Sturgeon of playing “childish political games”.
READ MORE: Cambo oil field: What does it mean for climate targets?
Ross also accused the First Minister of speaking out on Cambo as part of a political move to “seal a nationalist deal with the Greens” and “provoke a grievance with the UK Government” ahead of COP26.
In the letter Ross also referenced the SNP’s memorable campaign slogan from the 1970s: “It’s Scotland’s oil”.
The Scottish Greens hit back at Ross’s insinuations and called the party an “embarassment”.
Ross referenced the SNP's old slogan in his letter to the First Minister
Harvie pointed to the “overwhelming” scientific data in the IPCC report released by the UN earlier this week.
The UN’s secretary general released a statement after the report was published warning of a “code red for humanity” and said that oil and gas exploration must stop.
Up to 132 million tonnes of carbon could be released if the Cambo field is given the green light and would require a land mass 1.5 times the size of Scotland to counter.
Harvie said: “The Scottish Conservatives are an embarrassment.
“Firstly their ‘net-zero’ spokesperson called for the vast new oil field at Cambo to go ahead, then their leader starts regurgitating old SNP slogans like some kind of petulant online troll.
READ MORE: Cambo oil field: Nicola Sturgeon tells Boris Johnson to 'reassess' plans
Harvie pointed to the IPCC report and "overwhelming scientific data" in the UN research
"There is an enormous amount of pressure on both the Prime Minister and First Minister to recognise that to continue expanding oil and gas extraction is irresponsible when climate breakdown is accelerating now.
“That pressure is not just from us, but from the overwhelming scientific data published by the IPCC this week, from the UN Secretary General who said countries should end fossil fuel exploration and production, and from public opinion.
“The First Minister’s letter was a first step, but we need to be much clearer with the UK Government that the just transition away from oil needs to start now. Instead of talking about Scotland’s oil, we should be talking about Scotland’s wind, solar and tidal potential and the jobs that come with that.”
Ross was labelled a "petulant online troll" by Patrick Harvie over the letter
We previously told how Nicola Sturgeon wrote to Boris Johnson to reconsider licences for oil fields like Cambo where “field development” is yet to begin, in light of the climate emergency.
The First Minister was challenged by climate activists over the Shetland project in Queens Park, Glasgow, last weekend as she attended the Govanhill Carnival in her southside constituency.
Campaigners from Green New Deal Rising and Stop Cambo challenged the First Minister on why the Scottish Government wasn’t opposing the crude oil field.
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