Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater has said the oil and gas industry must transition to suit a greener economy, or face being wiped out.
Speaking at the Scottish Green Party conference in Inverness, Slater said oil companies will have to switch their focus to renewable energy to solve the climate crisis.
She said: "The option is transition or die, and that's not me saying that, the planet is saying that.
"You can't argue with the physics and chemistry of planetary geo-science.
"You must transition or die, we all must transition or die.
"If we get to six degrees of global warming, which we are on track to do if we don't make changes, 95% of life on earth will be extinct.
"There's a reason people like Extinction Rebellion are using that type of language.
"Transition is possible, you can transition a whole industry if you plan for it.
"We've got ten years, the problem is if you delay starting then you only have eight years, then you only have six.
"You can get a lot done in ten years, but you have to start now."
Slater, who works as an engineer for tidal turbine firm Orbital Marine Power, also said that if companies are worried about profits, there is money to be made in the renewables sector.
She said: "We have just raised an £8 million contract with Texo in Dundee to build one of our turbines.
"They are a company who have traditionally worked in oil and gas and now they're transitioning to renewables. It can be done.
"Us and our competitors have shown that you can generate power from the tide and that you can generate money from the tide.
"It's just one turbine, which is going to keep Texo busy for most of next year.
"What if it was five or ten or twenty?
"There is absolutely an industry out there, there is work in renewables.
"We have 25% of Europe's renewable energy, we don't need oil and gas, we can get rich from renewables.
"If getting rich is what you want, then we've got what we need to make people rich."
At the conference the party continued its push for a Green New Deal, a broad-ranging set of policies to create a more environmentally friendly economy in Scotland, which the Greens say will also create thousands of jobs.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel