Concerns Peterhead fossil fuel station could be "climate disaster"

The Scottish government is considering a new fossil fuel station in Peterhead which Friends of the Earth Scotland say would be a "climate disaster".

The message comes as the First Minister heads to Dubai for the UN climate conference COP28 which begins on Thursday November 30th.

The Scottish Government are considering an application from energy giants SSE and Equinor to build a new gas burning power station at Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, in addition to the existing gas plant.

Friends of the Earth Scotland climate campaigner Alex Lee said: “If the Scottish Government approves new fossil fuelled power at Peterhead, it would be a climate disaster that further endangers people in Scotland through worsening climate breakdown and exposes household energy bills to the greed of the fossil fuel industry for another 25 years.

“From Brechin to Bangladesh, the deadly impacts of the climate crisis have arrived and the Scottish Government cannot add even more fuel to the fire by undermining the transition to renewables and allowing the building of new fossil fuel infrastructure.

Energy Minister Gillian Martin said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on a live application.

“The Scottish Government is committed to Scotland becoming a net zero nation by 2045. Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan sets out firmly our opposition to the continued use of unabated fossil fuels to generate electricity, while our updated Climate Change Plan contains more than 200 policies to reduce emissions across all sectors, including energy, in line with this bold ambition.”