THE First Minister has told Douglas Ross to “acknowledge” the reality of the climate crisis in response to his letter on the Cambo oil field.
The Scottish Tory leader wrote to Nicola Sturgeon after she said the UK Government should “reassess” the license for the crude oil field proposed to go ahead off the coast of Shetland.
Sturgeon made the intervention on the issue on Thursday in a letter to Boris Johnson after the IPCC report warned the planet is at “imminent risk” of reaching the 1.5C threshold that could lead to catastrophic consequences.
The UN’s Secretary General warned of a “code red for humanity” and said that oil and gas exploration must stop.
READ MORE: Cambo oil field: What does it mean for climate targets?
But today, Ross sent a letter to the First Minister criticising her comments on the oil field and referenced the SNP’s memorable campaign slogan from the 1970’s “It’s Scotland’s oil”.
The Tory leader claimed the SNP’s change in position was “motivated primarily by the constitution, not the climate” and accused Sturgeon of playing “childish political games”.
Ross also accused the First Minister of changing her position on Cambo as a political move to “seal a nationalist deal with the Greens” and “provoke a grievance with the UK Government” ahead of COP26.
The Scottish Greens rejected this and labelled Ross a “petulant online troll” and said the Scottish Tories are an “embarrassment”.
Patrick Harvie labelled Ross as a "petulant online troll" after he sent the letter to the FM
Friends of the Earth (FoE) Scotland also criticised the letter and said that Ross and the Scottish Tories are not taking the climate crisis “seriously”.
And, in response to Ross’s letter, a spokesperson for the First Minister said: “We recognise the importance of the North Sea offshore sector to Scotland’s economy – but we also recognise the reality of the climate emergency and the ‘code red for humanity’ which was signalled this week.
“Industry leaders themselves recognise the need for a just transition.
“Douglas Ross should acknowledge that, and the fact that Scotland is uniquely well placed to utilise the skills and expertise of the North Sea sector to achieve that transition so that jobs and prosperity can be secured in the years to come.”
READ MORE: Accident-prone Douglas Ross's Cambo oil stunt is classic Tory deflection
Environmental campaigners have warned of the effects of pressing ahead with the oil field, which contains an estimated 800 million barrels of oil and would remain in production until 2050, when the UK Government has set its target for net zero.
Up to 130m tonnes of carbon could be released if the Cambo field is given the green light and would require a landmass 1.5 times the size of Scotland to counter.
Ryan Morrison, just transition campaigner at Foe Scotland, said Ross should stop “dancing to the tune of oil bosses” and work towards a just transition for workers.
Morrison said: “The climate science is clear that there can be no new fossil fuels. To ignore that and still call for Cambo to go ahead shows that Douglas Ross and the Scottish Conservatives are not taking the climate crisis seriously, or considering how to support people working in the oil and gas industry.
“The UN report earlier this week described the climate crisis as 'code red' for humanity.
“He should be calling for the managed phase-out of oil and gas that is necessary to protect people and the planet.”
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