Over 80 young people from across Scotland and Europe are protesting in Aberdeen this morning outside the offices of the UK’s main oil and gas lobby, demanding an end to the huge subsidies for North Sea oil and gas. [1]
Young Friends of the Earth Europe activists are calling on the UK government to scrap the tax cuts and subsidies that underpin the exploration and development of new oil and gas reserves.
The protest comes just months after the UK signed the Paris climate agreement. To reach its target of a maximum of 2 degrees of warming, at least 80% of fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground. Young Friends of the Earth Europe believes that the Paris agreement is not ambitious enough, and instead calls for a maximum of 1.5 degrees of warming to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
Olav Nicolay Larsson Aga, a spokesperson for Young Friends of the Earth Europe said, “Less than a year after signing the Paris climate deal, the UK government is veering off track with its head turned by big fossil fuel lobbyists like UK Oil and Gas. The huge subsidies afforded to fossil fuel companies fundamentally contradict the government’s commitment to climate action, and should be scrapped.”
The subsidies also fail to prevent steep job losses in the region. Tax breaks for North Sea oil and gas production announced in 2015 will cost taxpayers a further £1.7bn over the next five years. Despite this, 56,000 jobs linked to the industry have been lost in the last year, with a further 23,000 forecast to be lost by 2020.
Afrida Alam, another spokesperson for Young Friends of the Earth Europe, said: “It is unacceptable that workers are being laid off while big, climate-killing fossil fuel companies hoover up billions in government subsidies. We stand in solidarity with the hundreds of workers and their families who have lost their jobs or are facing the prospect.”
Young Friends of the Earth Europe notes that the job cuts highlight the unsustainable nature of the oil and gas industry and the need to transition to sustainable, long-term alternatives that meet the needs of people as well as the planet. Young Friends of the Earth Europe calls on the North Sea oil and gas industry to begin the transition towards low-carbon, renewable-based development that will create secure, long-term jobs for workers.
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Notes
Since 2003, major fossil fuel companies such as Shell, Total and BP, have benefited from subsidies to the tune of £5.9bn. This is despite the UK government pledging to end fossil fuel subsidies as a part of a 2009 G20 commitment.