Meeting of the Parliament 26 November 2025
No, thank you. I just want to be clear on this topic—it is a short debate.
Scotland’s huge renewables potential must be unlocked by maximising the opportunities from offshore wind, accelerating onshore wind, expanding green hydrogen and investing in the carbon capture and storage projects that the Tories delayed for years—projects that would have delivered thousands of jobs across the north-east and at Grangemouth.
We must also address the climate and nature emergencies, which are beginning to affect households across the country. For example, let us look at heating our homes. Scotland’s 2.5 million homes account for 13 per cent of our total greenhouse gas emissions, so we need action now from the Scottish Government—I say that on fuel poverty awareness day. Our councils need support to invest in that area, so that we get new, well-paid jobs across the country. Midlothian Energy Ltd is looking at delivering low-carbon energy projects and investment. Its heat network will supply 3,000 customers. The work has started, but we are not seeing the development to take it to the next level. I therefore call on the Scottish Government to deliver on the statutory undertaker rights that were included in the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021. Their implementation has been delayed, so heat network projects are not able to proceed. We will not see new jobs being created unless we have a plan or cross-Government action, which is vital.
Here is something that I agree with Douglas Lumsden on—shock, horror! A draft energy strategy was announced nearly three years ago. Businesses are crying out for clarity, supply chains need to be able to invest now, and, crucially, workers need to know where their future lies. A credible energy strategy must include a real skills and training plan, so that workers in oil and gas can transition; well-paid jobs; clear investment pathways for renewables; and green hydrogen that is linked to local production and supply chains and is not imported from foreign manufacturers. I call on the SNP Government to publish its energy strategy and just transition plan now.
I move amendment S6M-19894.4, to leave out from first “the Scottish” to end and insert:
“that the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Conservative and Unionist Party stood by for years and let Scotland’s oil and gas industry decline with no plan for the future; welcomes the UK Labour administration’s plans to ensure that oil and gas continue to be key parts of the country’s energy mix for decades to come, while working to unlock Scotland’s huge renewable potential; condemns the two decades of SNP failure to turn this enormous potential into jobs, wealth and social good for communities across Scotland, and calls on the Scottish Government to urgently publish its Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, and to invest now in skills development and the green jobs of the future.”
15:11Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.