Britain should not follow Donald Trump’s energy policy, say Scots

New polling from More in Common [1] for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit shows that roughly two thirds of Scottish voters (65%) believe Britain should not follow US President Donald Trump’s calls increasing oil and gas extraction and should instead focus on increasing generation from renewable energy. 

Only a third (35%) think that the Britain should be following the President’s calls to focus on increasing oil and gas generation. 

This sentiment was reflected in overall support for different forms of energy, with renewables in the form of onshore wind (64%), offshore wind (73%), solar (66%) and hydro (71%) being significantly more popular than North Sea oil and gas (55%). 

Likewise, when asked how best to ensure Scotland’s’ energy security, half (50%) of respondents believe that focusing on more domestic renewable energy generation rather than oil and gas was a better option compared to under a third (29%) who endorsed the alternative of focusing more on oil and gas.

The conflict in the Middle East has seen UK gas prices recently spiked at a three-year high [2]. But analysis has found that recently agreed renewables projects are set to cut gas imports by more than three times as much as potential new North Sea licences would [3].

Commenting, Laura Anderson, Senior Associate at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: “Scots clearly don’t agree with President Trump on Scotland’s energy policy, seeing renewables as the way forwards. In reality increasing oil and gas production isn’t an option for the North Sea, a basin that has been declining for two decades with official figures showing more drilling meaning only a slightly slower decline [4]. This inevitably means fewer jobs and unless renewables are ramped up fast, the future of communities that have delivered oil and gas for many years is at risk.

“With Scots facing the possibility of two gas price crises in a matter of years with conflict in the Middle East following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more renewables can help to reduce gas dependence and stabilise prices for homes and industry.”

The polling also asked about people’s attitudes on how best to secure jobs, as the North Sea basin continues to decline with just over half (53%) indicating that the best approach of Government is to support continued rollout of renewable energy for those workers to transition into. 

ENDS

Notes to editors: 

1. Polling conducted by More in Common of 1,003 Scottish adults between 15th February to 3rd March 2026

2. Trading Economics: https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/uk-natural-gas

3. Latest renewables auction to cut US gas imports by half in 2030: https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/latest-renewables-auction-to-cut-us-gas-imports-by-half-in-2030

4. NSTA: https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/data-and-insights/insights-and-analysis/production-and-expenditure-projections/

For more information or for interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, t: 020 8156 5305, m: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net