Chamber and committees

Will the member take an intervention?

Will the member give way?

Will the minister give way?

I will gladly respond to Kevin Stewart. Yes, I am disappointed that the windfall tax has been extended, but let us have a think about what the other parties would do. The Scottish National Party is in favour of a windfall tax but, more than that, it has a presumption against oil and gas exploration, which would devastate the oil and gas industry. Labour, with Red Ed, would have no new licences, would have a windfall tax on steroids, would ramp up the rate and would scrap the reinvestment allowance. At least the Greens are consistent—they would shut down the industry tomorrow.

I go back to the point that I was making. What I said does not mean that our green credentials are any less or that we are turning our backs on our ambition to reach net zero—far from it. We believe that the oil and gas sector has a huge role to play in our energy transition. We are committed to working with our workers, communities and businesses to ensure that, as we move forward towards our net zero targets and as we transition away from oil and gas and towards greener technologies, we do so in a way that protects jobs and livelihoods across Scotland, particularly in the north-east.

We are the only party that is committed to continuing to support oil and gas exploration while we still have demand in this country. Seventy-eight per cent of Scotland’s current energy needs are met by oil and gas. That figure rises to 92 per cent when we are talking about the percentage of heat demand that is provided by hydrocarbons. While we still have demand for oil and gas, it is better for the environment, for our economy and for our jobs that we use our own resource, as opposed to relying on imports from elsewhere. Cutting off that supply, under the SNP’s presumption against new oil and gas exploration, would leave us all worse off and throw thousands of livelihoods on the scrap heap.

I am just about to talk about gross value added to highlight the importance of the oil and gas industry, which the Labour Party would turn its back on by turning off the taps. The oil and gas industry accounted for over £20 billion of Scotland’s GVA in 2022-23. That was nearly 11 per cent of Scotland’s total GVA.

The economic impact of losing the oil and gas sector should not be underestimated. The Scottish Government’s own figures show that there would be a loss of £7 billion by 2050. Those jobs would not be replaced by green jobs, and they would be less well paid and would have a lower GVA than jobs in the oil and gas sector. Again, that is according to the Government’s own figures. It is time for this devolved Government to be honest with people and tell us how that money will be replaced in the Scottish economy and how the gap will be filled.

On the SNP’s presumption against oil and gas exploration, Reform Scotland stated:

“It would be a ridiculous position for Scotland to find itself in if it ends up having to import fossil fuels for a period while simultaneously boasting about a decline in domestic production, all the while losing skilled workers.”

I agree that it would be “ridiculous”—it would be absolutely bonkers.

The loss of skilled workers is a huge concern. The energy sector workers survey found that there are too many barriers to oil and gas workers moving into green jobs. It also found that more information was needed and that the support and help for those in the industry who are looking for a new opportunity simply are not there yet.

The First Minister recently visited the north-east. Although he may have had soundbites on how important the oil and gas industry is, we all know that words are cheap; it is actions that count. The First Minister is not pulling the wool over the eyes of anyone in the north-east. He was there not to try to save offshore workers’ jobs but to try to save one job and one job only—that of Stephen Flynn.

The First Minister sits on the fence so often that his backside must be full of splinters. He masquerades as a friend of the oil and gas industry, but we all know that it is the grubby deal with the Greens that he values most. While the Bute house agreement exists, the oil and gas industry will always be demonised by this devolved Government, and that is driving away investment.

We know what the priorities of the SNP-Green devolved Government are, and they are not our priorities. While it is talking about independence, we are talking about jobs, prosperity, economic growth, investing in our industries, supporting our oil and gas industry, and investing in new technologies. The SNP is against Aberdeen being Europe’s oil and gas capital. It is against Rosebank and the £8 billion of investment that it brings. It is against Cambo and against new licences in the north-east.

As our motion points out, the Labour Party is no better on the topic. Labour has also confirmed that it would block any requests for new licences. It has said that it would cut the oil and gas investment allowance. Offshore Energies UK said that that move would lead to 42,000 job losses and £26 billion of economic value being wiped out.

There is only one party in here that supports new oil and gas licences, and that is the Scottish Conservatives. There is only one party in here that understands the economic importance of the oil and gas industry, and that is the Scottish Conservatives. There is only one party in here that will stand up for thousands of workers in the oil and gas industry, and that is the Scottish Conservatives.

I move,

That the Parliament recognises the vital role that oil and gas plays in Scotland’s energy mix and in supporting tens of thousands of Scottish jobs, particularly in the north east, and in providing vital energy security; condemns the Scottish Government’s “presumption against new exploration for oil and gas” as stated in its draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, as well as the Scottish National Party administration’s failure to welcome new oil and gas developments such as Rosebank, which will boost UK energy security and the economy with a direct investment of over £8 billion as well as providing nearly 1,600 jobs; further condemns the Labour Party’s intention to block any new oil and gas licences and its proposed extended windfall tax, which the OEUK has warned will lead to “42,000 job losses” and £26 billion of economic value being wiped out; acknowledges that there is a climate emergency and, therefore, welcomes that the UK has become the first major economy to halve emissions from their peak; notes that a just transition is needed to meet net zero targets, but believes that this must not leave any industry or community behind and cannot be achieved without the investment, innovation and skills from the oil and gas sector, and calls on the Scottish Government and the Labour Party to end their reckless assault on North Sea oil and gas workers and Scotland’s economy.

The cabinet secretary has had discussions with the Climate Change Committee. Has it advised the Scottish Government that it will miss its 2030 emissions target—yes or no?

The oil and gas sector continues to be one of the most important issues in Scottish politics today—and rightly so. Tens of thousands of jobs depend on it, thousands of communities rely on it, and hundreds of businesses are based in Scotland because of it. The Scottish Conservatives remain the only party that believes in the contribution that the sector makes to our economy and that has committed to supporting it for a long time to come.

I understand that Michael Marra might not want to listen to the members on these benches, but will he at least listen to companies such as OEUK, which has said that, under Labour’s plans to remove the reinvestment allowance,

“42,000 jobs and £26 billion of economic value”

will be lost? Even former Labour councillors such as Barney Crockett in Aberdeen have disowned the Labour Party over that.

Will the member take an intervention?

Last week you published a report that found that the previous climate change plan update did not fully meet the requirements of the climate legislation. Can you expand a little bit on what the key issues were? What could be done in future to make that better?