Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for "stringent climate compatibility checks" on new North Sea energy projects, calling Downing Street's planning "haphazard.
She made the statement to media on the same day that UK government doled out an expected 130 licences for offshore oil and gas exploration, making an additional 898 sites available,
"My objection to the UK government’s approach is the sort of haphazard approach to it, which is undermining energy security — the route to energy security is renewable energy," Sturgeon told BBC Radio, saying "any consent for new exploration should not happen without the most stringent climate compatibility checks".
With National Grid advising of potential blackouts for households if gas supplies run short and calling for households to conserve energy Sturgeon also told the BBC this was "particularly galling in a Scottish context because we are a net exporter of electricity".
Scotland generates enough renewable electricity to cover almost 100% of its domestic needs, she noted, but as the country is part of the British grid it is "reliant on the UK government taking good decisions itself".