Working with communities across Scotland we’ve helped stop fracking and unconventional fossil fuels for now, but we need to turn the current moratoriums into permanent bans.
Around the world we already know of about five times more fossil fuels than we can possibly afford to burn if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change. It couldn’t be clearer – most of it needs to stay in the ground. Scotland already produces seven times more fossil fuels than we use ourselves, so the last thing we need to do is chase after new sorts of fossil fuel, with dangerous techniques like shale gas fracking, coalbed methane and underground coal gasification.
But stopping the new fossil fuels isn’t enough. We have to end our dependency on fossil fuels completely – in transport, in industry, in agriculture and for heating our homes. This means doing things much more efficiently, switching over to electricity and making that electricity from renewables sources like the wind, waves and sun. And it means planning a proper transition away from North Sea oil that is fair to those working in these industries. People who currently work in fossil fuels should be supported and trained to transition, if they wish, to careers in energy efficiency and renewables.
You can find out more about our work on fracking and unconventional fossil fuels here
You read more about how we need to plan for an end to North Sea oil in this blog