A NEW energy strategy for Scotland will set out how the country can make the "fastest possible transition" away from oil and gas, Nicola Sturgeon has pledged.
The new strategy, which will be published next year, will be based on the understanding that "unlimited extraction of fossil fuels ... is not consistent with our climate obligations", the First Minister said.
She promised the new strategy at the same time as saying that the Scottish Government would publish a "catch-up plan" this week setting out what actions it aims to take after missing emissions reductions for three consecutive years.
The First Minister, speaking ahead of the global COP26 climate change summit, which gets under way in Glasgow on Sunday, said that Scotland's climate change targets were "amongst the toughest" in the world.
While the Scottish Parliament has passed legislation committing the country to achieving net zero by 2045 - five years earlier than the UK - Ms Sturgeon said more still needed to be done.
Addressing students at Strathclyde University, she said: "It is not enough to set tough targets - we must meet them.
"Despite all of our progress, we have fallen short on our last three annual milestones.
"Two years ago, our emissions were 51.5% lower than in 1990. But to meet that year's annual target, they needed to be 55% lower.
"The law in Scotland stipulates that if we miss any annual targets, we must outperform in future years to make up for it.
"So this week we will publish a catch-up plan."
She also promised her government would produce a new energy strategy next year.
This, she said, would have the "principle underpinning... that unlimited extraction of fossil fuels, or maximum economic recovery in UK policy terms, is not consistent with our climate obligations".
Ms Sturgeon stated: "Instead, our focus will be on achieving the fastest possible just transition for the oil and gas sector - one that delivers jobs and economic benefit, ensures our energy security, and meets our climate obligations."
With Scotland having a "significant and long-established oil and gas industry" that employs tens of thousands of people, Ms Sturgeon conceded that this would be "one of the most difficult issues we face as we tackle the climate emergency".
But she was clear it would be "fundamentally wrong" to "keep exploring for and extracting oil and gas until the last possible moment".
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The First Minister stated: "The more we tell ourselves we will always have oil and gas as a safety net, the less motivated we are to speed up the development of the alternatives, to train people for new jobs in emerging technologies, and to deliver the just transition we and the world need.
"It's an approach that cannot be justified in the face of the climate emergency - but it can't be justified economically either."
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