This article appears as part of the Winds of Change newsletter.
It has been hard to escape the phrase “oil and gas licences” over the past few weeks in Scotland.
“No new oil and gas licences”, says the Labour Party. ‘Lots’, to paraphrase the Conservatives. ‘Maybe some’ the SNP seems to be saying when Kate Forbes talks about an “in between position”.
“On one hand,” she said, “the Conservatives are wanting to issue hundreds of new licences, which we don’t think is compatible – but on the other hand Labour’s position could jeopardise 100,000 jobs.”
New oil and gas licences, she explained, must pass three tests: climate compatibility, energy security and energy cost.
But this is nothing new – the climate compatibility checkpoint was already baked into the system by the current Conservative government, and the process delegated to the North Sea Transition Authority.
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And, of course, the SNP have little power over this matter, making it an easy issue to focus on when you want to portray yourself as a party that will defend the workers but still vaguely care about climate, yet don’t have to give a definitive answer.
But, if the SNP still want to look green, and committed to climate mitigation as well as jobs, backing licences is not a good look – especially when the debate comes just months after the dropping of a key 2030 climate target and the ending of the Bute House Agreement.
In the backdrop, there is also the difficult issue of........