Nicola Sturgeon: It's hard to mention David Cameron and CCS together without swearing

Nicola Sturgeon has said she finds it hard to mention David Cameron and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in the same sentence without swearing.

Speaking at the Paris climate talks, the First Minister was asked about the UK Government’s decision in November to scrap a UK-wide CCS competition.

The funding, set out in the Conservative manifesto, was due to be awarded in six months’ time, with Peterhead power station one of two plants bidding for the competition.

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She said: “We were very disappointed in Scotland, which is a diplomatic and gentle way of expressing how we felt.”

"[Our] bid was as at a highly developed stage, and to have this competition removed at a very late stage was not only economically disappointing but in terms of carbon capture and what we’re trying to achieve was also disappointing too.”

She concluded by saying that, "in the future we are going to see more scrutiny of a country’s rhetoric about what they say on climate change the reality of their policies.”

Sturgeon joked: “It’s very hard for me not to say CCS and David Cameron in the same sentence without swearing.”

However despite political differences between Holyrood and Westminster, Sturgeon said she was keen to stress a united front with the UK government at the Paris talks, sayings she remained optimistic that a legally binding deal could be achieved.

Speaking at the UNEP sustainable innovation forum (SIF15) in Paris, the FM told leading industrialists that she was particularly optimistic about the “positive atmosphere” of the Paris talks. 

“We now have a moment of opportunity, where there is a growing understanding not just in the developed world, but also in the developing world of how important it is to up our game when it comes to tackling climate change.”

Sturgeon said that technology already existed to deal with the problem of climate change.

"The biggest challenge was now for us to grasp that opportunity. I certainly hope world leaders in Paris this week will take that opportunity.”

She also told attendees that although Scotland was a relatively small country in global terms, it had a strong record of innovative prowess.

“Scotland is a country with a long and celebrated history of innovation that produced many inventors and entrepreneurs who in the 19th century help pioneer the industrial revolution.”

But moving on to the 21st century she stressed that Scotland now had the skills and expertise to play a role in the new “carbon reduction revolution,” adding, “Scotland has a very good story to tell, but we are ambitious to do much more.”

Scotland’s transport policy is also helping contribute to cutting carbon emissions, she said. “Aberdeen, world famous for its gas and oil production is now home to Europe’s largest fleet of hydrogen cell fuel buses”.

Sturgeon also said that she wants her country to export the skills and expertise gained from research into renewable energy, “this will help us to not only meet our economic targets, but also help the world to meet its climate change goals.”