
SNP First Minister John Swinney has appointed Gillian Martin as Scottish energy secretary after announcing a cabinet reshuffle.
The Aberdeenshire East MSP took on the Scottish government energy portfolio as acting cabinet secretary in July last year.
The temporary switch came after Scotland’s former net-zero secretary Màiri McAllan left on maternity leave ahead of the birth of her first child.
Upon her return to government this week, Swinney appointed McAllan as cabinet secretary for housing.
McAllan will retain responsibility for delivering some net-zero commitments, with her portfolio responsible for home heating and energy efficiency.
Meanwhile, Martin becomes cabinet secretary for climate action and energy, with the term ‘net zero’ no longer featuring in Scotland’s cabinet responsibilities.
Announcing the reshuffle, Swinney said he is focused on leading a government that “unlocks the potential for every person in Scotland to thrive”.
He said the cabinet changes will “further enable us to realise that potential”.
“Màiri McAllan has been tasked with tackling the housing emergency, including ensuring we have energy-efficient homes to help bring down bills and tackle the climate emergency,” he said.
“These are two of the biggest challenges facing people across the country and I want them to know they have a government firmly on their side and focused on delivering real change.”
Swinney thanked Na h-Eileanan an Iar MSP Alasdar Allan for acting as climate action minister during McAllan’s absence.
Reshuffle ‘no excuse’ for delayed climate plan
In response to the announcement, the Scottish Greens called on the SNP government to speed up the publication of Scotland’s first carbon budgets.
In April last year, McAllen announced the Scottish government would scrap its target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030.
At the time, McAllan said the then SNP-Greens coalition would bring forward new legislation to ensure climate change targets “better reflect the reality of long-term climate policymaking”.
The decision to scrap the climate targets led to the spectacular collapse of the SNP-Greens administration and the departure of former First Minister Humza Yousaf.
Now, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie has said the SNP government can no longer use the reshuffle as an “excuse” to push back the release of its climate policies.
“The delay in setting Scotland’s first carbon budget has already caused serious concern, and some had blamed it on the imminent reshuffle,” Harvie said.
“Now that Gillian Martin has been made permanent in the job she was covering for, this can no longer be the explanation.
“It’s urgent that she comes to the chamber in the days ahead to explain the delay and to publish the government’s proposals immediately. There is no time to waste.”
Scotland’s nuclear energy debate
Martin’s appointment also came as Scottish Labour continued its attacks on the SNP government over its longstanding anti-nuclear stance.
Scotland’s last remaining nuclear power station at Torness is expected to shut down in 2030.
UK energy minister Michael Shanks wrote an opinion piece this week, declaring a Scottish Labour victory in Holyrood elections next year would see an end to the de facto ban on new nuclear developments in Scotland.
“The decisions by the SNP have held Scotland back, delaying our clean energy future and costing communities the jobs and investment they need,” Shanks wrote.
His comments came as the UK government unveiled billions of pounds in funding for nuclear energy projects, including £2.5bn for small modular reactors.
In response, Martin said the Scottish government would “capitalise on renewable energy capacity” rather than “expensive new nuclear”.
“We think the investment is much better placed in areas of renewable energy, which is cheaper to produce and is also cheaper for consumers,” Martin told the BBC.
“We already have in Scotland more renewable electricity than can often fit onto the grid.
“We also have hydro power stations, which are a way of filling in any gaps in the generation of power.”