First minister urged to ‘get off fence’ and oppose oil field plan off Shetland

Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to publicly oppose the proposed Cambo oil field near Shetland amid growing calls for the Scottish Government to stand against further oil and gas developments.

So far the first minister has stopped short of condemning the proposed development.

The final decision on the oil field will rest with the UK Government but if given the green light, Cambo could yield as many as 255 million barrels of oil over its lifetime – and produce an estimated 132 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Scottish Labour’s net zero spokeswoman Monica Lennon has written to Ms Sturgeon urging her to publicly oppose the development after a landmark UN report found it was “unequivocal” that human activity is responsible for global warming.

The report, by the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns climate change is already causing chaos.

In her letter, Ms Lennon writes: “The peoplepowered Stop Cambo campaign is gaining momentum.”

Ms Lennon said the first minister must “get off the fence” because the fate of the planet and future generations “depends on the actions of our governments today”.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We are committed to becoming a net-zero economy by 2045 and, while this is a reserved area, any Scottish Government support for oil and gas businesses in the North Sea is conditional upon them contributing to a sustainable and inclusive energy transition, and ensuring a secure energy supply.”