The Scottish Greens have called the proposed development of a North Sea oilfield a “climate disaster” just hours after a senior SNP minister softened his party’s position on the project.
The Times reports today that tension between the Scottish Government coalition partners is growing.
Hostility towards the oil and gas sector eased within the SNP after Humza Yousaf took office, even though the first minister has made repeated statements prioritising a shift to green energy.
Neil Gray, the economy secretary and one of Yousaf’s closest allies,is credited by some with encouraging more dialogue between ministers and the industry. He has refused to state his opposition to exploitation of the Rosebank field, which lies west of Shetland.
Mr Gray repeatedly failed to take a position on the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field, which is west of the Shetland Isles, on Thursday during a radio interview.
Neil Gray is credited by some with encouraging more dialogue between ministers and the industry.
Activists and scientists have been campaigning for months for Rosebank, which holds nearly 500 million barrels of oil and could become operational in 2027, to be rejected.
Mark Ruskell, the Scottish Greens environment spokesman, said: “Developing and drilling Rosebank would be a climate disaster. If we want to have a liveable future then we must end oil and gas exploration, and drastically cut our dependence on planet-wrecking fossil fuels.
“Unfortunately the powers to stop Rosebank sit with the prime minister who has already made it clear that he will not take the climate emergency seriously.”
Ruskell is technically a backbench MSP who is not bound by the government whip despite the fact that his party’s co-leaders, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, are ministers.