SCOTTISH Tories are misleading communities across Scotland with debates in parliament that fail to understand the meaning of "just transition", the Greens have said.
The Tories are seeking the backing of the Scottish Parliament for the creation of new oil and gas projects in the North Sea.
The parliamentary motion that was submitted by North East Scotland regional MSP Liam Kerr is due to be discussed in Holyrood tomorrow and asks the parliament to support projects including the Cambo oil field.
The Greens argue that this goes against the advice of the International Energy Agency, the UN Secretary General and the Climate Change Committee and that Green MSPs are being labelled "extremists" for accepting this advice.
READ MORE: UK Government is 'misleading' public over power to veto Cambo oil field
The Cambo oil field, located to the north west of the Shetland islands, has the potential of producing more than 800 million barrels of oil and, if approved, extraction could begin from as early as next year.
In the first phase of the project developers want to extract 150m barrels – with emission equivalent to running a coal power station for 16 years.
The amount of oil and gas in already operating fields in the UK exceeds its share of emissions in relation to global climate goals.
Scottish Greens climate spokesperson Mark Ruskell (below) said: “The Scottish Conservatives clearly do not understand the meaning of the word transition. We are investing in jobs in alternative industries while the Tories call us names from the sidelines.
“Expanding oil and gas production is the opposite of a transition, and it is misleading to the communities who rely on this industry for jobs and livelihoods to suggest otherwise.
"The UN General Secretary himself has called for no more expansion in fossil fuels, and the UK Government’s own advisers at the Climate Change Committee told MSPs the case has not been made.
"It appears the Scottish Conservatives are willing to call them extremists too, rather than provide a real future for Scotland’s communities.”
READ MORE: Kate Forbes challenges Tories to match Scotland's £500m for a just transition
As part of the co-operation deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens, the Scottish Government has pledged it will invest £500m into the north east of Scotland as part of a "just transition" away from oil and gas production over the next 10 years.
The commitment looks to build Scotland’s future as Europe’s renewable energy powerhouse.
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