John Swinney rejects Donald Trump's calls for more oil drilling
Mr Swinney stressed the need to 'recognise the realities of climate change' and carry out a 'just transition' to net zero.
The First Minister said: 'I do not think it's a surprise that Donald Trump believes and says what he says about energy issues.
'I think we're all quite familiar with his line of argument – but from the Scottish Government's point of view, we've given a commitment to get to net zero, and we're going to see that commitment through.'
Read More
Donald Trump calls for more North Sea oil drilling with Aberdeen 'the hub'
The First Minister added: 'The need to take climate action is absolutely central to what all governments have got to do, and the Scottish Government is absolutely committed to that journey.'
He said the 'shift' from fossil fuels to renewable energy needed to take place in a 'managed way', and that there are 'huge opportunities' in Scotland for renewable energy.
'That's exactly the approach that we'll take, and we're now achieving great success in the rolling-out of renewable technologies in Scotland,' he said.
The Scottish Government has committed to a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2045, something the Conservatives described on Friday as a 'pipe dream' due to what they said was the 'snail's pace' of change.
The Tories said that based on current projections it could take until 2080 for the country to achieve net zero status, and that there would be 'eye-watering' costs if the target is to be achieved.
Mr Swinney rejected this characterisation, insisting: 'What my government will do is what we always do, which is we'll look at the evidence, we'll take the practical steps, and we'll deliver on our commitments, and that's what we do.'
He also pointed out that the Conservatives had previously supported the 2045 target in the Scottish Parliament.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
24 minutes ago
- The National
SNP could have got the votes to win had they backed this petition
In the run-up to the by-election the SNP leadership played the well-worn Westminster political 'first past the post' tactic. That is, not to try to promote your own policies but to claim that a vote for your candidate will prevent the 'much worse' party winning the seat. That way there's no need to make any promises or commitments to the electorate, you just claim to be much better than the party you claim is likely to win the seat if your party fails to win it. READ MORE: Israel launches second wave of major strikes on Iran John Swinney insisted on claiming that the outcome of the election would be a win for either SNP or the unknown Reform UK candidate, so that voting SNP was required to stop the neo-fascist Farage bunch from taking the seat, and in doing so, getting a foothold in Scotland. He offered no evidence to back this up, just his own political wisdom and in following this strategy, allowed Labour's 'invisible man' to quietly take the seat with practically no campaign – Labour were probably looking on and thinking it would be rude to interrupt! We now know that John's political wisdom was widely off the mark, indeed his claim that Reform was doing so well probably played into the Farage media hype, which is the core of the Reform organisation, and to that extent helped them in the election. This was a disaster for the SNP, losing a seat that they've held since its introduction in 2011. So again, the only winner was political apathy and disillusionment, with a turnout of only 44.2% compared to 63.2% in 2021, John Swinney seemed to imply this was a reasonable result? I know that in the run-up to this election, the SNP candidate Katy Loudon asked SNP members and the wider constituency for their support. Andy Anderson, the national convener of the Respect Scottish Sovereignty movement, responded to Katy, asking her to give her support to petition PE2135 on Scottish human rights which is currently before the Scottish Parliament. Andy said if she would do this, he would talk to RSS supporters in the constituency and seek their help to get her elected. RSS has about 7000 supporters in Scotland and hundreds of these supporters are in that constituency, so getting their active support for the SNP candidate could have been decisive in the outcome of this election. So how did Katy respond? She didn't. Andy prompted her again. No response. It seems it was more important to the SNP leadership to keep their options open to undermine the UN human rights of the Scottish people than to win a by-election. The Scottish people will not tolerate this, we will persist in our struggle for Scottish human rights and for direct democracy, and this RSS petition is an important part of that struggle. Apathy and political disillusion will not continue to dominate our electoral system. So, if the SNP want a viable political future in Scotland, they had better pay attention to the human rights of the Scottish people and start to respond to this issue. Paddy McCarthy via email IT is always a good way to finish the working week, witnessing the complete meltdown with associated frothing at the mouth of the extremists, those whot love to label themselves as 'Reform'. The followers of Farage – yes, he that is nothing more than a 'market-stall Trump' – dislike having their twisted ideology questioned. Which is in itself a classic reaction by those with leanings towards the totalitarian state. Their disdain for human rights, obsession with national security, and want of suppression of workers' rights all point to the fascist way of thinking. Yet if you were to ask them what their goal is? Their answer is that all they crave is their country back? They are, of course, unable to state where they wish to bring their country back from. But they know that the problems facing the UK could be solved by putting machine guns on the Channel crossing points, kicking out everyone who does not look the same, speak the same, or prays to a different god! After all, are they nothing more than an invasion force sitting in our midst just waiting for the call? Which is similar to the scaremongering used before the start of the First World War. Then it was directed at the German waiters in London, who were supposedly all serving officers in the Kaiser's army. The rancid press also stated that thousand of rifles with even more ammunition had been pre-placed in the UK for use by the waiters/officers! Oh, how they crave to have the country returned to a time of smartly dressed obedient children, with housewives equally smartly dressed doing their daily shopping at local shops. A time that did not exist outside of the BBC. The fascists will not accept that they are being manipulated by politicians who are, by their nature, dangerous, corrupt of ideology, and vile in deed. Scotland as a matter of urgency must separate from that breeding ground of rancid thought that is Westminster. Only through independence and rejoining our friends in Europe (in whatever form) shall we halt this goose-stepping into the abyss of intolerance and authoritarianism. Cliff Purvis Veterans for Scottish Independence 2.0 AN excellent article by Dr Mark McNaught on the advantages of the Efta/EEA over the EU for an independent Scotland (Jun 11). In particular, he calls out the EU's now blatant and highly dangerous military ambitions. What he doesn't mention, however, is that Scotland would be a net contributor to the EU. Latterly the UK was paying around £9 billion annually, the equivalent of more than £150 per adult. Given that Von der Leyen and co are hell-bent on admitting the ultimate basket case, Ukraine, that figure would be a lot higher. George Morton Rosyth
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
CNN's Dana Bash doesn't see the funny side of Trump's brutal truth bomb about Iran
President Donald Trump shared a moment of dark humor with CNN host Dana Bash when she asked about slain military leaders in Iran. Trump urged the Iranians to ' come to the table to make a deal before it's too late' and pointed out that those who were advocating against a nuclear deal with the United States were now dead. 'You know the people I was dealing with are dead, the hardliners,' he said, according to Bash. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran's commander in chief of the military was killed in the initial Israeli military strikes as well as Gen. Hossein Salami, Gen. Gholamali Rashid and Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. When Bash asked if their deaths were the result of Israel 's attack last night, Trump replied sarcastically, 'They didn't die of the flu - they didn't die of Covid.' Bash appeared on CNN to share details of her conversation but did not react to Trump's comment and said the president said it 'quite sarcastically.' Trump repeated his call for negotiations in a post on social media. 'Certain Iranian hardliner's spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!' he wrote. The president noted the 'great death and destruction,' from the attacks but warned that future attacks would be 'even more brutal.' He reminded Iranians that he gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to make a deal but they refused. 'They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn't get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!' he wrote. Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier Thursday evening he was aware of the pending Israeli strikes before they took place, but did not intervene to stop them. 'Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb. We'll hopefully get back to the negotiating table,' Trump said. 'There are several people in leadership in Iran who will not be coming back.' Trump defended his reaction to Israel's strikes telling Axios on Friday that he did not expect the attacks to disrupted his diplomatic efforts with Iran. 'I don't think so. Maybe the opposite. Maybe now they will negotiate seriously,' he said, calling it a 'a big day.' A senior administration official told Axios that Trump did not want Israel to attack Iran. 'We told this to the Israelis publicly and privately ahead of the strike,' the White House official said. On Thursday, Trump wrote on social media that the United States was 'committed' to making a deal. 'We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran,' he wrote.
Telegraph
39 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Starmer's deal with Trump spells disaster for farmers, leaked memo warns
British farmers are facing disaster because of Sir Keir Starmer's trade deal with Donald Trump, a leaked memo has claimed. Last month's agreement will slash tariffs on US exports of ethanol, a grain-based chemical used to make green fuel. Industry leaders fear this will lead to the collapse of a key domestic market, and risk pushing profitable farms into making a loss. Under the deal struck by Sir Keir, which has not yet come into force, the US will be able to supply Britain with some 1.4 billion litres of duty-free ethanol. Vivergo Fuels runs the UK's largest bioethanol plant at Saltend in East Yorkshire, but is warning that the site will have to close unless the Government intervenes. A closure would represent a fresh blow to thousands of farmers who supply grain to the site. It follows a tax raid on the industry in last year's Budget. Reforms to inheritance tax that will come into force next April are expected to cause family businesses to slash investment and jobs, leading to a broader slowdown in the economy. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, also slashed the funding for a scheme to support farmers in this week's spending review. In an internal document on Sir Keir's deal, seen by The Telegraph, Vivergo said: 'The recent UK-US trade agreement has eliminated tariffs on 1.4 billion litres of US ethanol – equivalent to total UK demand. 'This has rendered domestic production economically unviable, placing the UK bioethanol plants at immediate risk of closure. 'The knock-on effects for UK farming, especially arable farmers supplying feed wheat, are severe and systemic.' Vivergo has bought wheat for bioethanol production from more than 12,000 farms, with a particular focus on those across Hull and Yorkshire. The memo warned that losing this domestic market would remove a 'critical pillar' of rural economies at the expense of employment and investment confidence. 'Without intervention, farmers will face a 'double hit' of reduced prices and lost access to value-added supply chains (e.g. animal feed by-products and CO2 sales).' Vivergo added that the closure of its Saltend plant, which produces up to 420 million litres of bioethanol a year, was inevitable without 'immediate' support from the Government. It continued: 'This [would be] particularly damaging for wheat not suitable for milling, which has few domestic buyers beyond bioethanol plants. 'This is likely to depress the price of wheat nationally, and would force growers to export surplus wheat into oversupplied global markets at reduced prices. Farms may go from a profit to loss position as a direct result.' Supply crisis It is estimated that investment from Vivergo supports about 1,220 farming jobs across the north east of England. The UK currently imports just under half (around 45 per cent) of its CO2. Without a domestic bioethanol industry, sources fear a supply crisis if foreign sources were to be disrupted. The memo concluded: 'The bioethanol sector is not only a key customer for UK feed wheat, but also a critical component of national energy security, food resilience, and rural economic stability. 'Without rapid intervention, the closure of Vivergo would damage farm incomes, increase import dependency, and undermine the government's strategic goals across multiple departments.' Last month, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) said the 'significant' amount of bioethanol included in Sir Keir's deal with the White House was a cause for concern among its members. There is currently domestic demand for up to 2 million tonnes of biofuel per year, and the NFU warned that the British agricultural sector must not be expected to 'shoulder the heavy burden' of tariffs being removed elsewhere. A Government spokesman said: 'We signed a deal with the US in the national interest to secure thousands of jobs across key sectors. 'The Business and Transport Secretaries met with representatives from the bioethanol industry this week and we continue to work closely with them to understand the impacts of the UK-US trade deal.'
