Iain Hardy from Petroineos

Transcript

00:00You have highlighted the 400 direct jobs that will be lost as a result of this decision.

00:08I mentioned earlier the work of this committee on a just transition for Grangemouth. The

00:12Government has published its draft plan for a just transition, but where, from the company's

00:18point of view, is a just transition for those 400 workers who are going to lose their jobs

00:23in a very short period of time?

00:24We have very clearly articulated to the Government in Holyrood and Westminster for a number of

00:32years the challenges that our business was facing. Those challenges are driven in part

00:37by policies set by this Government around the ban on new-build petrol and diesel cars

00:41post-2030. In that context, it is hardly surprising that there would be announcement

00:46as a manufacturer of petrol and diesel fuel that we would have to transition away from

00:51that at some point.

00:54In parallel, we have launched Project Willow, a study that will look at low-carbon manufacturing

00:59options for the site. However, let us be clear that the purpose of that study is not and

01:04will not enable a smooth transition, as I think you are alluding to, from a fossil-based

01:10economy to a non-fossil-based economy. If that was to have been put into effect, that

01:15piece of work would have had to happen five years ago. Let us be very clear that we came

01:20to the Scottish and UK Governments five years ago with that proposition, but we did not

01:24move on. We are where we are today. We are committed to running an open, fair and robust

01:30consultation. That, in parallel with ensuring continuity of supply, are our two drivers

01:36at present.