SCOTLAND'S ambition to be a fully fossil free nation has moved closer after the government agreed to adopt a preferred position of offering no support for coal extraction, the Scottish Greens have announced.
Co-leader Lorna Slater, Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, confirmed the move in a speech to her party’s conference in Dundee, with the Scottish Government adopting a preferred policy position of no support for coal extraction in Scotland, the same process that was followed for fracking.
Slater also shared with delegates her vision of how Scottish Greens can assist with the push to Yes.
On the adoption of the policy position, she told the conference: ”Right now, the UK Government is considering opening a major new coal mine in Cumbria. They have even issued a coal licence in South Scotland. Make no mistake, this is Westminster climate denial. It would be the final nail in the coffin for the UK’s international reputation. It must be stopped.
“That is why, today, I can announce that the Scottish Government is adopting our preferred position of no support for coal extraction in Scotland."
She also challenged the UK Government to follow Scotland’s lead and rule out approval for any coal operations in England too.
She added: “Scotland - the country that helped bring the coal-fired industrial revolution to the world - has drawn a line. The coal era is over. And I’m calling on the UK Government to follow us. To make the right call for once. To ban coal extraction for good."
Germany, Sweden, Canada and the Dutch are among those pledging to go coal-free by 2030. But only Sweden has gone as far as Scotland, when it introduced a ban on coal, oil and gas extraction in July this year.
Powers over coal exploitation are reserved to the UK Government, and the Coal Authority is responsible for licensing coal mining activity in Scotland. However, planning policy and determinations are devolved to the Scottish Government.
Slater further explained the reasoning behind the position.
She said: “A transition is not just moving towards something, it’s also about moving away from something. We have to leave fossil fuels in the ground. Fossil fuels in Scotland and the North Sea are no exception.
“That’s why the Scottish Government opposed Cambo. That’s why we will fight the UK Government’s reckless pursuit to extract every last drop of oil and gas. That is why Scotland stands strong against fracking.”
Scotland has ambitious climate targets and a commitment to become net zero by 2045.
With Scottish Green in Government, the 21/22 Programme for Government made it clear the unlimited extraction of fossil fuels was incompatible with national climate obligations and meeting the aims of the Paris Agreement.
Slater also told delegates that "independence won’t just be won in Holyrood" and it will take the energy and action of Scottish Greens to convince soft no's and undecided.
She said: "It will be won by each and every one of us. It will be won when we knock on doors. It will be won when we talk to our friends. It will be won when we reach out to our communities and the people around us.
"That is how the Scottish Greens have secured change in the past, and it is how we will do it again."
That is how we will build the fairer, greener and independent Scotland that I know we can be.
