Harvie: ‘War cannot justify more oil and gas production’
THE war in Ukraine must not be used to justify the increased production of fossil fuels, Patrick Harvie has told the Scottish Greens party’s conference.
His intervention came a day after The Herald revealed that the UK Government was ramping up North Sea gas productions in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Scottish Greens’ co-leader, who is also a minister in the Scottish Government, instead wants to see a sharp rise in energy coming from renewable resources.
Speaking in Stirling as the party prepares for the local government elections in May, he condemned president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and welcomed the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West.
The US and UK have announced they are to stop Russian oil and gas imports by the end of 2022, while the EU – which depends on Russian gas for 40 per cent of its domestic consumption – is to cut imports from the country by two-thirds by the end of the year.
“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was a flagrant and grievous breach of international law and what has happened since is truly horrific. We offer the people of Ukraine our support and our solidarity today,” Mr Harvie told the conference.
He underlined that less than six months ago Glasgow hosted the UN’s COP26 conference on climate change, where world leaders pledged to significantly reduce carbon emissions, as he argued that “fossil fuel dependence is a profound threat to our security – ecological, geopolitical, economic”.
Mr Harvie said: “Here in Scotland, the Tories and their cheerleaders are shamelessly using this scenario to justify expanding oil and gas exploration and production. For them, barely months after COP left Glasgow, any excuse will do to ignore the pressing climate science which should be keeping them awake at night.”
He added: “This extreme fossil fuel ideology would throw our future away, it would surrender the cost-of-living crisis to volatile global gas markets, and to follow it would be to turn our backs on the workers and communities who urgently need a just transition and investment in the industries of the future.”
Mr Harvie welcomed the announcement by the German coalition government, which include the Greens, to stop the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
He said: “That was a significant move by a green party which had only recently re-entered government, because Vladimir Putin has spent years ensuring Russian gas is a key element to his power play across Europe.”