First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed the Scottish Government is “considering joining” an alliance of nations committed to ending drilling for oil and gas “in the not too distant future”.

But the First Minister has faced criticism after Scotland was not confirmed as a founding member of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) – formally announced by the Danish and Costa Rican governments at COP26.

Alongside Denmark and Costa Rica, the BOGA features France, Greenland, Quebec, Ireland, Sweden and Wales as core members and California and New Zealand as associate members.

The BOGA will seek a managed phase-out of oil and gas production to align with Paris Agreement goals but none of the members has a substantial production of oil and gas.

If Scotland does join the coalition, it would be the first nation to do so that heavily relies on oil and gas for its energy mix.

For much more The Herald reports.

As Afloat reported yesterday, Minister for Environment, Climate & Communications, Eamon Ryan confirmed Ireland’s new membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) at COP26 held in Glasgow.

The signing by Ireland with this new alliance of governments aims to phase out oil and gas production in line with the existing Paris (COP21) agreement on climate change.