of criticism, as climate campaigners denounced the First Minister’s failure to block the new Cambo oilfield in response to the climate crisis. Non-governmental environmental organisation Greenpeace, together with Friends of the Earth Scotland accused her of not showing leadership and “hiding behind Boris Johnson” after she resisted calls for an end to new North Sea drilling.
In a letter to PM Johnson on Thursday (12 August), Sturgeon noted that North Sea projects where drilling had not yet begun, including the Cambo proposal, should be subjected to tougher appraisal on account of the climate emergency, but stopped short of stating that these projects should be blocked. She noted that the report issued by the International Panel on Climate Change on Monday highlighted the urgent need to take collective action regarding this global crisis. “In the words of the IPCC it was ‘code red for humanity’. We all have a moral obligation to act,” she told the British PM.
Responding to the First Minister’s remarks, a climate and energy campaigner with Friends of the Earth Scotland, Caroline Rance, criticised her for failing to take a bold stance against Cambo and its devastating climate effects.
“Nicola Sturgeon is deferring to Boris Johnson on the future of North Sea oil and gas, when she must take a bold stance against Cambo and the climate devastation it will unleash,” she said. “The science on this is already crystal clear: burning fossil fuels is the key driver of this crisis so to avoid climate breakdown there can be no new licences or developments, and existing production must be wound down over the next decade.”
Meanwhile, a political campaigner for Greenpeace UK, Sam Chetan-Welsh, added: “The first minister must stop hiding behind Boris Johnson. If she wants to show leadership on climate she must clearly say: stop Cambo.”
