4. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is regarding any implications for its net zero ambitions of the United Kingdom Government’s Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which seeks changes to the licensing regime, including how regularly licensing rounds are held. (S6F-02700)

Decisions on offshore oil and gas licensing remain reserved to the UK Government. The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, along with other recent announcements, demonstrates that the UK Government is not serious about the climate crisis. Instead of licensing ever more fossil fuel extraction, which the bill would have happen on an annual basis, the UK Government should be supporting a fair and just energy transition, in line with its climate commitments.

We have repeatedly called for a rigorous climate compatibility test to be applied to all new oil and gas developments. However, the checkpoint introduced by the UK Government before the latest licensing round is neither robust nor, frankly, transparent.

In Scotland, we remain absolutely committed to a just transition to net zero by 2045.

The former UK energy minister Chris Skidmore recently resigned as a member of Parliament in protest at the bill, and Sir Alok Sharma MP, president of the

26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—has stated that the bill reinforces

“that unfortunate perception about the UK rowing back on climate action”.

Even those in the Tory party recognise that the UK Government is not serious about climate change.

Does the First Minister agree that a just transition to retrain and reskill the oil and gas workforce is vital to helping to deliver the energy that we use, that any party that forms the next UK Government must be serious about climate change and the push towards net zero, and that only as an independent nation will the people of Scotland get an energy policy that is fit for the future and for the emergency that we are facing?

The First Minister:

I agree with that. The fact that the Prime Minister spent more time on his private jet getting there than he did at COP28 tells us his level of commitment to tackling the climate crisis. [

Interruption

.]

The Presiding Officer:

Let us hear the First Minister.

The First Minister:

It is also true that 2023 has been confirmed as the hottest year on record. Those who refuse, in the face of all the evidence, to take the necessary actions are completely abdicating their responsibility not only to current generations but to future ones and to our planet.

I agree that responding to the climate emergency is an absolute imperative. There should be a political consensus on that, and I look forward to meeting with party leaders in the coming weeks to discuss how we can work collectively to tackle the climate crisis. It would be really helpful if, every time the Scottish Government proposed action to tackle the climate crisis, the Opposition did not oppose it simply for opposition’s sake.

The latest episode in Tory climate denial threatens to deepen our reliance on climate-wrecking fossil fuels exactly when we should be doubling down on cheap and clean renewables.

In Scotland, we are making great progress—there has been record investment in renewables as a result of planning reforms and there are tens of thousands of quality new green jobs. The “Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition plan—delivering a fair and secure zero carbon energy system for Scotland” reflects both the scientific evidence of climate change and that economic opportunity by clearly stating a presumption against new oil and gas fields. What impact will the new bill have on that exact commitment?

The First Minister:

T he Scottish Government absolutely values the exceptional role that the oil and gas industry has played over many decades in Scotland, as well as the exceptional efforts of the incredibly hard-working workforce in the oil and gas industry, which is a vital, key component of Scotland’s economic success. However, regardless of what anybody says in the chamber, the facts are the facts. Given the decline of the North Sea basin and the exceptional potential of our renewable sources, it is not just in the planet’s interest—although, of course, it is—to have a just transition to net zero but in our economic interest to ensure that that potential is unleashed.

We are in the process of finalising the energy strategy and just transition plan in the light of the consultation responses that were received. Our focus will be on reducing emissions and the just transition away from fossil fuels and towards unleashing the potential of our net zero green technologies.

As the Rosebank oilfield comes on stream and the Forties pipeline, which accounts for around 40 per cent of UK oil production, continues to flow, refining must be carried out at Grangemouth. Will the First Minister today commit to bringing together Unite the union, Petroineos and the UK Government to create the required rescue package to increase the profitability of the plant and secure its long-term future as a Scottish refinery?

The First Minister:

The future industry board, which is looking at that issue, is meeting in the coming weeks. Neil Gray and I have had conversations with the owners of the Grangemouth refinery, and there will be continued and on-going discussions. All of us want to see a viable and sustainable future for Grangemouth, and—of course—we will do our best to ensure that there are no job losses at Grangemouth. We will do what we can. The future industry board will meet, and I will ensure that Neil Gray writes to Ash Regan with the full details of the actions that we are taking, which include engaging not just with the owners of Grangemouth but with trade union colleagues.