Meeting of the Parliament 11 November 2025
I thank colleagues for what has been a good and important debate with an honest exchange of views and insights. I also pay tribute to Liam Kerr for bringing the debate to the Parliament and for the constructive way in which he drafted his motion and presented it at the beginning of the debate. That is exactly the sort of approach that we collectively need on this extremely important issue and challenge.
I welcome the opportunity to close for the Government. This paper is absolutely relevant to the skills agenda and the necessity for retraining to ensure that our people can maximise the opportunities and transition using their skills and knowledge. The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy is at the 30th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP30—where this whole question is being discussed at a global level.
Although Scotland is a very small contributor to emissions in terms of the international situation, we are a well-respected voice on what we are doing to transition to net zero, to use our expertise, to help those who are affected by climate change and, as part of the collective global challenge, to seek to reduce emissions at the global scale, because that is what is needed. We are an important voice in the room, while others are much bigger contributors of fossil fuel emissions.
I want to start my summing up by restating our firm commitment as a Government to delivering a just transition to net zero for workers, communities and businesses across Scotland but particularly in the north-east, and it is only right that many colleagues from that part of Scotland have contributed today.
As I have said in other debates on this topic, and as others have emphasised during today’s discussion, for those of us who represent constituencies elsewhere, the oil and gas sector is an incredibly important industry, not just because of its national significance to all of our lives and our economy but because of the indirect jobs that it enables in other parts of Scotland, including in my constituency.
The strength of the industry in the north-east and Scotland’s oil, gas and energy industry overall is world renowned, which members have rightly emphasised.
Another issue that has been rightly emphasised is that energy policy is reserved to the UK Government. Today’s discussion emphasises that it is right that we debate both devolved and reserved policy, especially when they interact.