Net Zero & Energy Secretary, Michael Matheson, will give evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee on Monday afternoon about hydrogen and Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS).

He will use the opportunity to urge the UK Government to join The Scottish Government in taking decisive action to enable a move away from fossil fuels.

He will point to the terms of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan which is published this week and which The Scottish Government regards as a route map to ensure a fast, fair and just transition to net zero.

The Scottish Government will support more generation of renewable energy and technologies like hydrogen and CCUS, both to deliver on climate targets and to use the skills of the North Sea energy sector. Ministers have written to the UK Government inviting it to join an Energy Transition taskforce to remove any obstacles in the way of a net zero transition.

Watch the meeting live from 3pm here.

Mr Matheson said:“This is a decisive decade for realising the full potential of a net zero energy transition.

“The North Sea is a mature basin and production is already in decline. As a responsible government, we are taking action to address the implications of this – anything else would only serve put jobs and our economy at risk.

“Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan sets out a very clear vision to capitalise on the enormous opportunities that a net zero energy system offers our economy.  

“The Strategy also highlights the key policy levers, currently reserved to the UK Government, which simply must be acted upon, at pace, if we are to realise this vision – and deliver not only Scotland’s climate targets, but the UK’s as well.

“There can be no further delay from the UK Government. Giving a concrete commitment to its support for CCUS in Scotland, to delivering on the investment promises it has made on the North Sea Transition Deal – of which little tangible evidence has been realised in Scotland to date – are just two examples.

“Scotland’s two Green Freeports are good examples of how the two governments can work together to make this happen and I urge the UK Government to continue to work with us, and with Scotland’s energy sector, to deliver a truly fair and just transition for our energy workforce.”

The draft plan highlights what the UK Government needs to act upon including:

  • support for CCUS in Scotland
  • support for the renewable electricity and hydrogen sectors through market mechanisms that are fit for purpose enable the necessary growth in scale and provide energy security
  • using available powers to support international trade in renewables and renewable hydrogen
  • unlocking of mechanisms to allow communities to benefit directly from local renewable developments
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.