Poll shows voters in Scotland want climate action

New polling has found that concern about climate change remains high across Scotland and that two-thirds of Scots want climate change to remain a top priority for the Scottish Government. The survey also revealed a lack of trust in both the current UK Government and North Sea oil and gas companies to safely handle the transition towards green energy. 

Key findings include: 

• Almost all respondents said they care about climate change and two-thirds of Scots think climate change should be a high priority for the government.
• 91% of respondents in the North East said they were concerned about climate change. 
• SNP voters polled consistently as among the most climate-engaged respondents.
• North Sea oil and gas companies are widely considered by most respondents (70%) to  benefit more from extraction in the basin than Scotland itself does currently. 
• Three quarters of Scots do not trust the current UK Government or the North Sea oil and gas companies to handle the green transition in a way that benefits workers and communities dependent on the sector. 
• More than half of voters under 35 years old in Scotland, across political parties, want the  government to introduce policies that will encourage green investment - such as ending new  oil and gas licensing. 
• Just one fifth of respondents in Aberdeen trust the industry to ensure that Scotland’s  workers and communities benefit from the green transition. 

The research, conducted by Diffley Partnership and commissioned by Uplift, assessed the views of 2660 Scottish adults, 1136 of  whom voted for the Scottish National Party in the previous election. The polling was conducted in May 2024, after the Scottish Government announced its plans to remove the 2030 interim climate target and end the Bute House Agreement. 

Scots remain concerned about climate change 

The new polling, as reported in the Herald, shows that voters in Scotland remain significantly concerned about climate change. Almost all respondents - spanning all regions and voter groups across Scotland - said they care about  climate change, with two thirds (61%) wanting the issue to remain a top priority for the government. 

It also repeatedly found SNP voters to be among the most climate-engaged demographics, with 95% of SNP voters concerned about climate change, with the vast majority (71%) wanting climate change to remain a government priority. The poll also found that 45% of SNP voters think that the UK Government should stop issuing new oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea, compared with 31% in favour of new licensing.

Younger demographics would like to see more government intervention to accelerate Scotland's  energy transition, with over half (52%) of voters under 35 supporting policies, such as an end to oil and gas licensing, to encourage oil and gas companies to invest in renewable energy.  

Scepticism of an industry-led fair transition

The research also highlighted strong scepticism from voters of the oil and gas industry’s current efforts to drive the North Sea’s transition to green energy. The existing North Sea Transition Deal is a voluntary, non-binding agreement between Westminster and the industry that focuses on relatively narrow industry concerns and fails to protect Scotland’s workers and communities, as jobs in the North Sea oil and gas industry, which have halved over the past decade, continue to decline. 

According to the polling, three-quarters of Scots, and the overwhelming majority (83%) of SNP voters do not trust the current UK Government or the North Sea oil and gas companies to handle the green transition in a way that benefits workers and communities dependent on the sector. North Sea oil and gas companies are also widely considered by most respondents (70%) to benefit more from extraction in the basin than Scotland itself does currently. 

The findings suggest that a lack of faith in the oil and gas industry can be found across Scotland. Just  one fifth (21%) of respondents in Aberdeen trust oil and gas companies to handle the green  transition so that workers and communities benefit. 

Jobs and skills needs at the forefront of public concern 

Across the board, the need for skills development and retraining for oil and gas workers,  government support for Scottish companies in the clean energy supply chain and ensuring  communities have a voice in transition planning were considered the most important government  priorities for a fair transition away from oil and gas. In Aberdeen, ensuring oil and gas workers and  their unions are involved in transition planning was also cited as a major concern. 

The polling also showed widespread awareness of the opportunities that the green transition can  present across Scotland. Two thirds (62%) of all respondents believe that  Scotland should grow its economy and tackle climate change at the same time, while 67% think that increased investment into renewables and energy efficiency measures will achieve an affordable and secure energy supply in the long-term.‍

The urgent need for a fair transition

The polling suggests that the public recognise the urgent need to transition away from oil and gas production in a way that benefits workers and communities in Scotland. 

After 50 years of drilling the UK has burned most of its gas and most of what is left is oil, 80% of which the UK exports. Analysis has found that opening new fields in the North Sea would only give us one extra year’s worth of gas between now and 2050. 

According to industry data, jobs supported by the oil and gas industry have more than halved in the past decade, during which time the UK Government has issued roughly 400 new drilling licences in five separate licensing rounds. This isn’t, then, about political will or policy, it’s a matter of geology. Jobs will continue to fall as the basin declines.

For all the talk of a ‘just transition’, the UK currently lacks a coherent plan for making sure that the workers and communities currently dependent on the oil and gas sector benefit from the North Sea’s transition to clean energy. The existing plan – the North Sea Transition Deal – hands much of the responsibility for the transition to the oil and gas industry, which is seeing them prioritise their needs over the public interest. Uplift is calling for a New Deal for the North Sea, as part of a broader strategy for energy independence, to ensure that the UK’s shift to clean energy benefits all.

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