Scotland’s three main party leaders will go head-to-head for a
debate about the future of the North Sea energy sector later today.
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has secured an
exclusive debate between SNP First Minister John Swinney, Scottish Labour
leader Anas Sarwar, and Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives.
A limited number of seats for the debate - which is being hosted by Calum Macdonald of Times Radio - are being made available this morning.
If you would like to attend, click here to join the waiting list and if successful, the Chamber will get in touch with you before 11am.
Energy and the shift to renewables is a key issue in the General
Election, with differing views on how the UK achieves its climate targets while
supporting 200,000 jobs and a sector which is worth £20billion a year to the UK
economy.
The Chamber’s recent Energy Transition report, published alongside
KPMG and ETZ Ltd, revealed there has been a sharp decline in work across
production, exploration and renewables as investors await the outcome of the
July 4th vote.
Industry confidence in UK activities has plunged to a record low,
according to the long-running survey, with high taxes and a potential
exploration ban threatening to bring our world class domestic oil and gas
industry to a premature end.
With a leading investment bank warning that up to half of the
direct and indirect jobs supported by the North Sea could be lost inside just
five years, the Chamber estimates that the party which wins the election has
100 days to restore confidence or face losing investment worth £30billion.
Speaking ahead of the debate, Ryan Crighton, policy director at
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are delighted to have
secured this debate ahead of the election.
“We are assembling an audience of industry experts who all want to
hear how Scotland’s three biggest parties will deliver the energy transition.
This evening these plans will be subjected to scrutiny from business leaders
who really understand the challenges.
“We have seen how big a subject energy is during the election
campaign; this is a crucial issue and we are grateful that the leaders have
managed to find time in their busy pre-election schedules to make it happen.”
The debate will be covered by the Press & Journal, Times Radio and will also
be released as a Chambertalk podcast later this week.