SNP 'taking sufficient time' to publish long-delayed energy strategy despite three-year wait
Gillian Martin told The Scotsman in November last year she was ready to publish the long-delayed document.
The SNP’s Energy Secretary has claimed her government is “taking sufficient time” to examine the impact of UK-wide decisions and court cases before publishing her long-delayed energy strategy - ahead of the three-year anniversary of the draft document being made public.
Then-net zero secretary Michael Matheson published the Scottish Government’s draft energy strategy in January 2023, while a full blueprint has not been published by ministers since 2017.
The final document has still not been published despite Energy Secretary Gillian Martin telling The Scotsman in November 2024 that she had had the strategy “ready to go for a while”, insisting she expected to “have it out by the end of the year” in 2024.
The draft energy strategy caused concerns in the North Sea oil and gas sector after including a proposal for a “presumption against” new fossil fuels exploration, as former first minister Nicola Sturgeon responded to the impact of burning fossil fuels on climate targets.
READ MORE: SNP's 'delusional climate gamble' as carbon capture failure risks tearing hole in net zero plan
After failing in his call for a Scottish Government debate on the North Sea last week, Scottish Conservative energy spokesman Douglas Lumsden has now pleaded with the Scottish Greens’ longest-serving MSP, Patrick Harvie, to back his demands for answers over the delayed energy strategy.
In a letter to Mr Harvie, he said: “When the Scottish Parliament reconvenes in January, it will have been three years since the SNP’s draft energy strategy was published.
“The final energy strategy would establish the SNP’s position on oil and gas once and for all, in plenty of time for the Scottish Parliament elections in May.”
Mr Lumsden said later: “The SNP's near-Olympic contortions on oil and gas are a matter of public record.
“The energy strategy needs published now so voters in the North East, indeed across Scotland, can see clearly where their candidates stand.”
In response, Mr Harvie stressed that the Greens “have long called for the Scottish Government to publish their energy strategy”.
He added: “While the government has sat on their hands for the past three years, repeatedly delaying this strategy, we’ve seen wildfires, floods and heat waves sweep across Scottish communities.
“Scotland has a huge renewable potential and resources that any country would envy. That absolutely has to be the focus of the energy strategy. That is why the draft policy published when Scottish Greens were in government represented such a responsible, evidence-led shift towards renewables; any watering down of commitments will be a deep betrayal of future generations.
“Over a year ago, I urged the First Minister to publish the energy strategy, but he has yet to give our Parliament, our energy workers or the industry a timeline for publication. He must now, in the new year, urgently publish the energy strategy to protect Scotland’s future.”
Mr Harvie said that “Douglas Lumsden and the Tories don’t want Scotland to be a world leader” in tackling the climate crisis.
He added: “They are happy to keep us under the thumb of multi-national fossil fuel companies who have pocketed vast profits while hiking our bills, destroying our environment and cutting jobs without a plan to protect our communities.
“Instead of doing the bidding of fossil fuel billionaires, Douglas should focus on helping the people of Scotland through a cost-of-living crisis his Westminster colleagues started, and his super-rich backers have profited from.”
Ms Martin said: “The issues in the energy strategy and just transition plan are informed and influenced by ongoing developments in the UK government’s energy policy and recent court decisions.
“We are taking sufficient time to analyse and reflect on those developments and their impact on Scotland.”
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