The SNP minister in charge of Scotland’s route to net zero has stressed any ramping up of action to meet climate targets will not be at the expense of people paying more.

The SNP’s net zero secretary has insisted she “won’t preside over any actions that make people poorer” as she plots Scotland’s course to net zero - amid calls for Westminster to “separate” gas and electricity prices to lower people’s energy bills.

Gillian Martin, who is acting net zero and energy secretary, is the sole Scottish Government minister taking part in the COP29 climate summit in Baku, which starts on Monday.

SNP acting net zero and energy secretary, Gillian Martin

Unlike previous years including COP26 in Glasgow, this year’s conference is a scaled-back event - with the focus on the crucial COP30 to be held in Brazil next year.

In an exclusive interview with The Scotsman, Ms Martin has warned Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House could derail efforts for loss and damage payments with which the Scottish Government has taken a leading role.

Analysis from contributors to the Carbon Brief website has revealed that US president-elect Donald Trump’s policies could add an extra 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to emissions - negating twice over, all of the savings from deploying wind and other clean technologies around the world over the past five years.

Ms Martin said that although she expected priorities in European countries to continue without impact by Mr Trump’s return, “what the US presidency might mean for the global south and the loss and damage and funding is a different matter”.

She added: ”The American election will make an impact on the discussions around that area of policy. It will be a topic of conversation (at COP29).”

US president-elect Donald Trump PIC: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Ms Martin had the task of rolling back Scotland’s legal climate targets - with the 2030 aim to cut carbon emissions by 75 per cent formally binned last week.

The Scottish Government is moving to five-year carbon budgets, the parameters of which will be recommended by independent advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), next year.

Ms Martin has admitted to The Scotsman that climate action has not happened “as fast as a lot of people would want”, but has stressed that her pragmatic approach to reaching net zero by 2045 will not result in added costs for the public.

She said: “What I won’t do is preside over any actions that make people, particularly vulnerable people, poorer.

“That’s why I’m lobbying very hard and working very hard with the UK government to get some of those system changes in place, so that it no longer becomes a thing that a household boiler breaks and they just immediately have to get another gas boiler in.

“We want people to have the option of putting something electric in without it being just this is the right thing to do - with it also being the sensible economic thing for us to do.

“If you start to see that changing, it will all follow.”

Asked about the difference in working with the Conservatives at Westminster and the Labour UK government, Ms Martin said it was “night and day”.

Gillian Martin (right) has worked closely with UK energy secretary Ed Miliband (centre) and energy minister Michael Shanks (left) over Grangemouth. Pic: Michael Gillen

She added: “In net zero policy terms, on the whole, the Labour government and the SNP government see the urgency of action. We are absolutely aligned on that.

“Obviously we’ve got some differences in some of the policies, but on the whole in terms of the acceleration of action required to decarbonise, we are pretty much aligned on that mission.

“The big difference that there has been is that I actually do feel that we are being recognised as being a fundamental equal partner in the ideas or suggestions about how we ramp up that action.”

Asked about why her government’s flagship 2030 target had to be scrapped, Ms Martin acknowledged that “some significant things haven’t happened and some significant things have happened”.

As well as inflation and the pandemic which held up crucial projects, she pointed to the continued delays from Westminster relating to the Acorn carbon capture and storage project that was intended to be up and running before 2030.

But Ms Martin also highlighted changes needed to the pricing of gas and electricity that would pave the way for green energy choices to become more affordable.

Electricity in the UK costs more than gas because of taxes and levies including carbon taxes on electricity but not gas. Electricity and gas prices are currently tied together.

That responsibility lies with the UK government and Labour’s election manifesto pledged to “save families hundreds of pounds on their bills, not just in the short term, but for good”.

Ms Martin said: “We’ve not had the reforms to the electricity and gas market pricing arrangements - separating them and also recognising that Scotland is producing green electricity to the point where some days we’re doing 100 per cent of our own use.”

She said these changes “are happening” and “the trajectory of that is 2030”.

Gillian Martin has warned the price of heat pumps and other electric green technology needs to be cheaper

Ms Martin added: “But one of the most important things that I see is that until we make it feasible for households and businesses to stop using gas boilers for heating and we make it the same or cheaper to turn to electricity, we won’t see that shift.”

The Aberdeenshire East MSP has received some harsh criticism for her background in the oil and gas sector - a likely prospect for someone from North East Scotland.

Ms Martin joked that her past has been “overblown”, stressing she used to “write training courses and make safety videos”.

The Scottish Government’s energy strategy was finalised in May and has since been waiting for Cabinet approval since the general election. Ms Martin expects that key policy document to be published by the end of the year.

Gillian Martin has insisted it is not a matter of ‘accelerating’ the decline of the North Sea oil and gas sector | Canva/Getty Images

Asked if the document could soften the SNP’s position after an initial proposal to "accelerate" the transition away from oil and gas, Ms Martin bluntly said: “I don’t see it as being an acceleration or deceleration.”

She added: “Oil and gas producers and companies are diversifying and they’ve also got the expertise in order to go into carbon capture and storage, hydrogen production and renewables.

“We have to make sure that we keep the expertise in Scotland and that expertise is also local people who work in oil and gas.”

Pressed over the delayed energy strategy, Ms Martin said: “It’s just a case of we’ve got a new first minister, we had a general election, we had a summer recess.

“I’ve had it ready to go for a while, it’s just getting a slot in Cabinet. I’m hopeful we’re going to have it out by the end of the year.”

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Exclusive:SNP will refuse to 'make people poorer' amid push to 'separate' gas and electricity prices

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