THE Scottish Greens are to force a vote at Holyrood tomorrow over whether the controversial Rosebank development should be given the green light.

The move follows First Minister John Swinney refusing to clearly state his position on the oilfield last week, saying only that any development should pass a “climate compatibility” test.

He said that developments such as Rosebank, Britain’s largest undeveloped oilfield, would have to be “compatible with our journey to net zero.”

But Mr Swinney also stressed that there would continue to be a need for oil and gas over the coming years, while Britain transitions away from fossil fuels.

Wednesday’s vote, while symbolic, will give MSPs a chance to make their views known before the British government makes its decision.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Scottish Greens climate spokesman Patrick Harvie warned that allowing Rosebank to proceed would be “catastrophic for our climate and our future.”

He said: “There is no safe level of new drilling and no way to produce an extra 250 million tonnes of carbon emissions without doing severe damage to the world around us.”

His comments came after Equinor, the Norwegian energy firm that owns the majority of the Rosebank development, submitted a fresh application for its approval last month.

The field, which is about 80 miles north-west of Shetland, is said to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil and some gas.

Equinor says it is “fully committed” to working with all relevant bodies to “advance the Rosebank project.”

But Mr Harvie said: “Even Equinor’s own analysis shows that what they are proposing is straightforward climate vandalism and I hope that our parliament will stand against it.”

Friends of the Earth Scotland oil and gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “It would be indefensible for the Scottish government to sit on their hands when asked to vote against the controversial Rosebank project, given that we know just how much climate damage it will do.

“The First Minister should be taking this opportunity to show climate leadership and come out clearly against new oil from Rosebank and for a fair and fast transition away from fossil fuels.”