SCOTTISH Government officials met with fossil fuel companies and lobbyists more than 100 times in John Swinney’s first six months as First Minister.
Civil servants in the Energy and Climate Directorate held 112 meetings with oil and gas lobbyists and firms from May to November while only meeting trade unions 14 times, the Sunday Mail reports.
Labour MSP Monica Lennon obtained the figures through a Freedom of Information request and said the figures cast doubt on the SNP’s commitment to a “just transition” away from fossil fuels.
She said the Government must “come clean on its dealing with the powerful lobbying industry”.
Lennon (below) told the paper: “Workers and communities urgently need a just transition to a renewable-powered Scotland, yet progress remains painfully slow.
“Trade unions are vital to the just transition. However, these figures reveal that the SNP government has the wrong priorities and is more likely to listen to those who profit from delaying the shift to cleaner energy.
“SNP ministers must publish the Energy and Just Transition Strategy to provide workers with certainty.”
The Scottish Government’s strategy for reaching legally-binding targets to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045 remains unpublished three years on from when it was supposed to be finalised.
Offshore trade body OEUK told the Sunday Mail that Scotland’s energy workers “deserve regular and meaningful engagement from industry with government, opposition parties and trade unions”.
The Scottish Government said: “People in the north-east and throughout the country would expect the Scottish Government to engage with these industries, many of whom are involved in renewable energy in addition to traditional energy sources.”
