Swinney Rethinks North Sea Oil, Seeks Energy Rescue

0:00On April 2nd, Scotland's first minister John Swinney is rethinking his stance on new North Sea oil and gas fields. He says the lower carbon footprint of homegrown fuel compared to imports deserves a close look, especially with tensions in the Middle East shaking up. Global energy supplies. He hasn't backed specific projects like Rosebank or Jackdall yet, but the world's messy reality has imposing for thought. Here this week on a podcast, Swinney stressed sticking to strict climate checks for any new drilling. This comes after his government ditched a power-sharing deal with the Greens, who once pushed hard against offshore expansion. The Scottish Greens fired back hard, calling it a huge step back from former leader Nicolas Durgian's firm, no two, new fields. The co-leader Ross Greer warned it spelled disaster for Scotland and the planet. Meanwhile, Scottish Tory boss Russell Finley slammed Swinney for vagueness, pointing to thousands of lost oil jobs under SNP watch and demanding, straight talk before elections.

1:01Swinney also pitched a 3-point energy rescue to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, ditched the planned fuel duty hike, cap household bills lower, scrap, vat on home energy, and drop it to 5% for businesses. A fresh Ipsos poll shows 48% of UK folks back handing out new North Sea licenses, so public winds might be shifting as leaders wrestle, with energy security and green goals.