Fife Council urged to set up Just Transition board on Mossmorran's future
Councillors in Fife are to be urged to set up their own Just Transition board to move Mossmorran to a lower carbon, greener future - and even its decommissioning.
The proposal is contained in an emergency motion which will be discussed at Thursday’s meeting of the full council.
It has been tabled by Councillors Mary Lockhart and Linda Erskine, and comes just days after SEPA - the Scottish Environment Regulation Authority - confirmed the emission of up to 13,800 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere from Fife Ethylene Plant between October 4 and 6.
The site has also been the subject of residents’ demonstrations in recent weekends to highlight the impact of unscheduled flaring on local communities.
The motion calls on the council to push the Scottish Government to establish a Just Transition Board to examine all options for the short, medium and long term future of the plants, including a phased decommissioning.
It notes a similar initiative has been set up at Grangemouth’s petro-chemical plant - but not Mossmorran.
In the event of no board being set up, the councillors’ motion calls on Fife Council to take the lead and create a board which follows on from the job done by the working group set up by former Kirkcaldy MP, Lesley Laird.
The councillors’ motion also wants Fife Council to re-affirm its call to the Scottish Government to commission an Inquiry into the health and social Impacts of operations at both Mossmorran plants.
They also want a dedicated facility to record and monitor the flaring related health complaints of residents.