Nicola Sturgeon urges Downing Street to reassess Cambo North Sea oil plans

Nicola Sturgeon has called on Boris Johnson to reassess plans for a new oil field development in the North Sea, yesterday proposing a summit between the leaders of the UK's four nations to discuss "the severe threat and heightened risk the climate emergency poses to the planet".

The letter from Scotland's First Minister cites stark warnings earlier this week from the world's top climate scientists regarding the scale of challenge to combat global warming, which Sturgeon described as a "code red for humanity".

She emphasised the need for collective action from political leaders to address the crisis, particularly from richer nations, as she called on the Prime Minister to reassess plans to grant a license to Shell for the proposed Cambo oil field.

While noting the economic benefits fossil fuels have provided to Scotland and the UK economies, Sturgeon said it was necessary to begin "significantly enhancing the climate conditionality associated with offshore oil and gas production", a move that would go further than the UK government's planned 'Climate Compatibility Check Point' for future licenses, which was set out in the North Sea Transition Deal brokered earlier this year.

"We are both well aware of the importance of oil and gas over many decades - not least in terms of jobs - to the Scottish and UK economies," Sturgeon wrote. "We also understand that reducing reliance on domestic production of oil and gas, which we must do, without increasing imports - which would potentially increase emissions - depends on the development of alternatives."

The First Minister said the "knowledge and experience" of the oil and gas sector and its supply chain should now be harnessed in the development of essential low carbon technologies, such as the production of hydrogen and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technologies.

The Scottish Government has set legally binding targets to reach net zero emissions by 2045 at the latest, with an interim 2030 target of a 75 per cent reduction. But Sturgeon said a pre-COP26 summit between UK leaders could help Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland to help shape UK climate policy beyond "the devolved levers" would help bolster the countries' decarbonisation efforts. 

"This would allow us to discuss our respective plans for achieving a just transition to net zero and, in that context, how we can accelerate the development of renewable and low carbon sources of energy, with consequential benefits to our own industries and supply chains," she explained. "I hope we are agreed that a just transition to net zero is essential. I would be grateful for your early consideration of and, I hope, agreement to such a summit."

Despite the dire warning about the climate emergency, Sturgeon said the IPPC report "also shows that with immediate, concerted international action to reduce emissions, it is still possible to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5C in the longer term - this must prompt all of us who hold positions of leadership to consider what more we can, and must, do to meet this imperative".

The answer to these challenges - given the urgency of the situation - cannot be "business as usual", she added.

NEW: @NicolaSturgeon calls for @BorisJohnson to ‘reassess' proposed Cambo oil field development off the coast of Shetland.

Ms Sturgeon also wants a ‘four nations summit' to discuss transitioning to net zero. pic.twitter.com/cZqENDnHE8

— Joe Pike (@joepike) August 12, 2021

Some green campaigners were not fully convinced of Sturgeon's motives in pushing the Prime Minister for climate action, however, accusing her of ducking responsibility for dealing with the exploitation of North Sea oil and gas .

"Nicola Sturgeon at least gives the impression of having read the dire warnings this week, but has failed to follow through with action," said Tessa Khan, director of grassroots campaign group Uplift. "She proposes that a ‘robust' test be introduced to assess whether it's safe for the climate to allow new North Sea oil and gas projects to go ahead. As things stand, the UK government just nods them through."

"Any genuine climate test will confirm what UN chief, Antonio Guterres, called for on Monday: an unequivical end to all new fossil fuel exploration and production 'before they destroy our planet'," she added. "Do we really need a four-nations summit to tell us something we already know? All Sturgeon is doing is delaying and over-complicating, when it's in fact really simple. There can be no new oil and gas developments in the North Sea - starting with Cambo - if we're to hope to keep to safe climate targets."

In response to Sturgeon's letter, a UK government spokesperson said it was the only G7 nation to have agreed a deal with its domestic oil and gas sector to support its transition to net zero by 2040 "while at the same time supporting 40,000 jobs".

"Even though demand for fossil fuels is falling and we continue to break records on our use of renewable energy, the advice of the independent Climate Change Committee is that we will continue to need oil and gas in the coming years as it is still vital to the production of many everyday essentials like medicines," the government said in a statement. "We have already ended support for fossil fuels overseas, and are already designing a climate compatibility checkpoint which will ensure any future licenses will only be granted if they are aligned with the UK's climate change objectives."