10 February 2010
Wake-up call for economy's dependence on oil
Transform Scotland today welcomed the call for action made by the Industry Task Force on Peak Oil and Energy Security (ITPOES) in their new report published today.
Colin Howden, Director of Transform Scotland said:
"The potential implications of an oil crunch are far more wide-ranging than the economic crisis experienced after the credit crunch. ninety-eight per cent of transport in the UK is fuelled by oil. in economic terms, it is an unacceptable risk for one of our key industry sectors to be almost totally reliant on one source of energy.
"The Grangemouth refinery oil strike in April 2008 and the oil price spike of summer 2008 demonstrated just how exposed Scottish society is to security of oil supplies – and we need only look back to the so-called “fuel crisis” of September 2000 to observe the political upheaval resulting from even a short-term threat to oil supplies."
Transform Scotland published a briefing 'Peak oil and transport' in November 2009 at a seminar organised jointly with The University of Edinburgh. The seminar featured Jeremy Leggett (Solarcentury) and Steven Stewart (Stagecoach Group), who are both contributors to ITPOES's work.