The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said rising global temperatures are likely to exceed 1.5C and warned that climate impacts will become increasingly severe and potentially irreversible with every fraction of a degree of additional warming. The report says urgent emissions cuts and a rapid transition away from fossil fuels are needed to minimise the scale and duration of the overshoot.
The intervention follow’s the First Minister’s Programme for Government, where he confirmed that the Scottish Government will publish its long-awaited Energy Strategy in this parliamentary term.
Campaigners say the Strategy must retain the Scottish Government's previously proposed presumption against new exploration for oil and gas, warning that any retreat would be incompatible with climate science and Scotland's climate ambitions.
Oxfam Scotland said approving new oil and gas fields would do little to reduce energy bills or strengthen energy security. Campaigners say that fuel from developments such as Rosebank and Jackdaw would be sold on international markets, while the UK would continue to import oil and gas. Oxfam Scotland says the most effective way to protect households from future energy shocks is to reduce reliance on fossil fuels altogether through investment in clean renewable energy and home energy efficiency.
Katherine May, Head of Oxfam Scotland, said: "This new UN warning could not be clearer: the world is heading beyond the 1.5C global warming threshold. If we want to limit the damage, every fraction of a degree now matters.
"At a moment like this, governments should be accelerating away from fossil fuels, not looking for ways to justify more drilling.
"The Scottish Government has promised to publish a new Energy Strategy. When it does, Scottish Ministers must hold firm to their proposed presumption against new oil and gas exploration. The science is getting more alarming by the day. Backtracking now wouldn't be leadership, it would be surrendering Scotland’s climate credibility. Scotland's climate choices must not be dictated by those with a financial interest in keeping us hooked on fossil fuels."
Campaigners say Scotland's Energy Strategy should focus on cutting emissions, expanding renewable energy and supporting workers and communities through a just transition, rather than opening the door to new fossil fuel developments which will not provide long term energy or job security.
Oxfam Scotland also called on the Prime Minister to reject the proposed Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields.
Katherine May added: "The Prime Minister has said the UK will rise to the climate challenge. Well, here's the challenge: Jackdaw and Rosebank must be rejected. This is a simple test of whether the UK Government's climate commitments are real or just rhetoric. If the Prime Minister approves new oil and gas fields in the face of yet another stark UN warning, nobody should take his climate promises seriously again.
"Communities in Scotland, across the UK and around the world are already paying the price of climate change through floods, fires and rising costs. The answer is not more filthy fossil fuels. It's investing in the clean energy future that people need and deserve."
The UNEP report warns that the higher global temperatures rise, the more people will be exposed to extreme weather, food and water shortages, ecosystem loss and potentially irreversible changes to the climate. It says the best remaining option is rapid emissions reductions combined with accelerated action to help societies adapt to the now unavoidable climate impacts.
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For more information and interviews, please contact: Rebecca Lozza, Media and Communications Adviser, Oxfam Scotland: rlozza1@oxfam.org.uk / 07917738450
