The UK Government’s decision on the Jackdaw gas field will hopefully provide some much-needed stability and certainty for workers and communities across the North-east after years of difficulty and indecision.
As both the First Minister and Scotland’s Energy Minister have made clear, utilising domestic resources is preferable to international imports which carry a greater carbon footprint.
However, for too long, Westminster has failed to establish a proper futures fund to ensure that our finite natural resources deliver a long-term legacy.
That is why the commitments around new green energy funding must be a turning point. It is vital that this new framework delivers tangible, long-term benefits for Scotland.
In particular, I hope and expect to see future green energy funding directed squarely toward transformational projects like the Acorn CCUS project at St Fergus in my constituency. St Fergus has powered this country for decades, and it must be at the very heart of our transition to net zero.
The economic benefits of our energy wealth should be felt right here in Scotland – supporting our communities, strengthening our supply chains, creating skilled green jobs for the future, and working to bring household energy bills down; rather than – as they have historically done, simply flow to the Treasury to plug short-term spending gaps.
