Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Exclusive: Humza Yousaf visits Aberdeen to unveil £25 million for oil and gas transition

The new first minister will announce the investment from the Scottish Government’s dedicated fund aimed at supporting the move away from oil and gas.

Humza Yousaf is visiting the north-east. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson
Humza Yousaf is visiting the north-east. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Humza Yousaf will make a first big push as SNP leader to cement support for his party in the north-east as he announces an extra £25 million to help with the shift toward renewable energy, we can reveal.

The new first minister will announce the investment today from the Scottish Government’s dedicated fund aimed at supporting the move away from oil and gas.

When Nicola Sturgeon was in power, the SNP committed to spending £500 million over the next decade to ensure the move away from fossil fuels goes smoothly.

The plan to transform Aberdeen from a hub for oil and gas jobs into a key city for green energy has been dubbed a “just transition”.

But during the recent SNP leadership campaign, his rivals competing for the top job shared doubts over their party’s moves to ditch the fossil fuel industry so quickly.

Central to the government’s approach on tackling climate change has been their power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens, who are strongly against any future North Sea drilling.

SNP rebel Fergus Ewing slated the Greens. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

Highland MSP and SNP rebel Fergus Ewing branded the environmental party “fringe extremists” who should not be in government in an astonishing attack over the weekend.

Environmentally-friendly policies an ‘absolute priority’ for new first minister

The Inverness and Nairn nationalist claimed the Greens want to “dismantle” the economy and put workers across rural Scotland out of a job.

Ahead of a visit to the Port of Aberdeen, Mr Yousaf told us environmentally-friendly policies remained his “absolute priority”, but said the transition to renewables must be “fair for everyone”.

The country’s national investment bank, which is owned by the government, will be expected to dish out the £25 million to projects aiming to support clean energy jobs.

The SNP remains committed to shifting away from oil and gas. Image: Robert Perry

The latest round of investment for the next financial year comes on top of £50 million which has already been spent.

So far much of the cash allocated has been spent with the aim of retraining oil and gas workers and investing in renewables projects to create new jobs.

Mr Yousaf told The Press and Journal: “Delivering on our climate obligations is an absolute priority – but so too is our unwavering commitment to ensuring the journey to net-zero is fair and just for everyone.

Just transition for north-east

“The north-east has long been known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. It can now become the net-zero capital of the world.

“The just transition fund for the north-east and Moray is already helping communities seize these opportunities.

“By using a portion of the fund to support the Scottish Investment Bank, we can leverage further investment in the region to ensure a fair and just transition.”

New net zero secretary Màiri McAllan. Image: PA

Mr Yousaf unveiled his top team last week and he has tasked rising star Mairi McAllan with overseeing the country’s shift away from oil and gas.

Elected just two years ago, she will have a tough job on her plate and how she manages concerns over the future of the energy sector could prove key to the SNP’s future fortunes in the north-east.

Business chiefs in the region were left bitterly disappointed earlier this year when a bid by Aberdeen and Peterhead for a low-tax green freeport was unsuccessful.

North Sea firms have also regularly criticised the windfall tax imposed on them by the UK Government in the wake of multinational energy companies reaping record profits.

Conversation