Scottish ministers accused of ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ approach to climate issues

Scottish ministers have been accused of adopting a “Jekyll and Hyde approach to the climate crisis” by environmentalists.

While Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin used her trip to the United Nations Cop climate summit in Turkey to announce £2 million of funding to help poorer nations deal with the impact of climate change, campaigners said this support stood in contrast to recent “backsliding on fossil fuels” from the Scottish Government.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS), which brings together more than 70 different organisations, was critical of last month’s decision from ministers to approve a new gas-fired power station at Peterhead.

But coalition manager Fraser Sutherland insisted that “Scotland can still be a genuine climate leader” as he urged First Minister John Swinney to oppose drilling in the Rosebank oil and gas field.

Mr Sutherland also urged the Scottish Government to back a “global road map away from fossil fuels” at the Cop31 summit in Turkey.

Speaking as the talks there continued, the SCCS manager made clear they welcomed the announcement of new funding to help countries in the global south.

But Mr Sutherland added: “As long as our government continues to support new oil and gas, this is like providing watering cans to a neighbour after starting a huge fire that is engulfing their house in flames.”

He said the new power station at Peterhead could “pump out 75 million tonnes of climate pollution and keep running 15 years past Scotland’s own net zero deadline” of 2045 – with the campaigner claiming: “It’s a Jekyll and Hyde approach to the climate crisis.”

Mr Sutherland continued: “This summer Scotland baked in record heatwaves, battled wildfires, ran short of water and was hit by floods.

“Burning fossil fuels drives that damage.

“Backing more oil and gas now is self-sabotage, and people in Scotland will pay the price.

“The First Minister has promised to tackle the climate crisis.

“He can start by opposing Rosebank, restoring the right to a healthy environment in the Human Rights Bill, and backing a global road map away from fossil fuels at Cop31.”

Ben Wilson, director of public engagement at the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, which is a member of SCCS, said: “The Scottish Government’s new pledges of cash for people affected by climate change around the world are very welcome, and will genuinely change lives.”

But he added: “To be a climate leader requires courage and consistency at home as well as abroad.

“The world desperately needs Cop31 to agree a time-bound road map for a global transition away from fossil fuels.

“If Scotland is to maintain its position as a champion of climate justice, the Scottish Government must get behind that ambition in the North Sea and around the world.”

That call came as Oxfam Scotland urged the Scottish Government to implement a “sky-high” tax on private jets in next month’s Holyrood Budget, as well as backing a presumption against new oil and gas exploration.

Katherine May, the head of Oxfam Scotland, said the funding pledged for the global south would “make a real difference to communities already facing the devastating impacts of climate breakdown in our warming world”.

Adding that the Scottish Government “earned its climate justice reputation in Glasgow at Cop26”, she said however that “five years later it cannot claim to support climate justice abroad while undermining it at home”.

Ms May said: “Recent backsliding on fossil fuels and environmental protections risks reducing Scotland’s climate ambitions to a branding exercise.

“True climate leadership is not a photo opportunity nor slogan.”

She continued: “If ministers want to convince people Scotland’s climate ambitions are still genuine, the Scottish Budget is where they need to prove it.

“That means increasing Climate Justice Fund investment from year one of this Parliament, implementing a sky-high private jet tax and introducing a presumption against new oil and gas exploration.”

Ms May added: “The challenge now isn’t just helping people live with climate breakdown.

“It’s tackling the pollution and profiteering that fuel it.”

Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin said: “Climate leadership requires action both at home and internationally.

“This Government has taken world-leading action to lower greenhouse gas emissions – which have more than halved since 1990 – to restore biodiversity and nature and to find sustainable solutions for our environment and economy.

“I am also working with international partners to advance cooperation on climate change and biodiversity loss at COP31 in Türkiye, demonstrating Scotland’s commitment to climate justice.

“This includes supporting locally-led programmes that help communities in the Global South communities build resilience in the face of escalating climate impacts.”