Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser uses his amendment to welcome both the economic opportunities for Scottish businesses and the employment prospects from investment in new low carbon energy projects.

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Mr Fraser says this includes the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm in the Moray Firth, which could create up to 5,000 new jobs.

He also highlights the Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset, where three Scottish companies, Doosan Babcock, SPX ClydeUnion Pumps and the Weir Group, are preferred bidders for contracts worth more than £1.3 billion. 

Mr Harvie asks the minister to acknowledge there are far more fossil fuels than we can afford to burn and asks for a percentage the minister thinks is valid to burn.

The minister does not answer this question, but warns about companies in the industry going under without support.

Mr Ewing says the work in the oil and gas industry must be valued.

He says progress has been made in cost of production reduction.

The minister says the workforce must be listened to. 

Mr Ewing believes a successful oil and gas sector will assist with diversification of Scotland's energy supplies and that the skills and expertise employed in Scotland's oil and gas industry will be crucial in the future success of the sector, mobilising low-carbon technologies and maximising the economic benefits from decommissioning. 

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The minster believes it is vital that Scotland continues to ensure good stewardship of all of this country's huge energy resources, with management of offshore resources being complementary with decarbonising the Scottish energy system over the long term.    

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing says the oil and gas industry in Scotland has achieved great things and it must be recognised to say it has been a huge asset.

But it now faces huge challenges, says the minister, who calls for everything to be done practically to help the industry through this difficult time. 

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He says there has actually been an increase in oil and gas production. 

Mr Ewing says: "Merchants of doom peddle false wares."

Minister for Buiness, Energy and Tourism Fergus Ewing uses his amendment to highlight that the sector is still a major employer supporting a substantial number of jobs across Scotland. 

Mr Ewing understands that Scotland needs a diverse and balanced energy portfolio to provide secure and affordable heat and electricity for decades to come. 

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The minister says Scotland has ambitious renewables and climate change targets and is making good progress toward them. 

He says Scotland's policies on electricity generation, renewable heat and energy efficiency are progressively reducing use of fossil fuels and will help Scotland in its ambitions to decarbonise electricity generation. 

Mr Harvie lambasts the Scottish government's reduction in funding for both tackling climate change and improving energy efficiency.

The Green MSP says his party is the only party willing to acknowledge the transition away from over reliance on fossil fuels, which could be good for the economy. 

Mr Harvie says a great deal has been done on the setting of climate change targets but not enough has been done to meet them. 

The Green MSP says there are those bidding for oil and gas decommissioning work and Scotland must be first in the race to build this alternative industry.

He says Scotland must be ready to adapt to the industrial change that is coming down the line.

The Scottish Green Party co-convener says the Scotland is still too reliant on the oil and gas industry and will be badly affected when the bubble bursts. 

Mr Harvie says there is more fossil fuel than we can afford to burn if we are remotely serious about tackling climate change.

The Green MSP says sadly Scotland's energy minister has repeatedly to back this fact.

The Scottish Green Party co-convener says there should be a 1.5 degree increase as posited by the Paris agreement on climate change.

Mr Harvie says carbon capture is not a technology that can be relied on at the moment, but he condemns the cancellation of the project at Peterhead, by the UK government.

Mr Harvie believes that the Scottish Government knows that the scale of employment previously supported by North Sea oil and gas extraction cannot be sustained, but that it has failed to produce a plan for transition. 

The Greens' MSP recognises that transition can ensure that a managed decline in fossil fuels captures the skills, experience and dynamism of energy workers and can generate many more new jobs in sustainable industries. 

He considers failure to plan such a transition to be reckless, and calls on the Scottish Government to collaborate with workers, trade unions, industry and other governments to build a just transition to a secure sustainable economy for workers of today and the future.  

Scottish Green Party co-convener Patrick Harvie says: "Nobody, nobody will take the issue of job losses in the North East trivially."

Mr Harvie says the mantra of maximum extraction does not mean the mantra of maximum economic benefit.

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The Green MSP says low oil prices relate to wider economic and political factors, as well as the decline of oil production in the North Sea. 

He says there is an over reliance of fossil fuels in our economy. 

Scottish Green Party Co-convenor Patrick Harvie uses his motion to highlight recent North Sea job losses and dramatic oil price fluctuations. 

Mr Harvie says this demonstrates a compelling reason to plan the transition away from Scotland's current over-reliance on fossil fuels. 

The Greens' MSP notes the STUC's comments to the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee that we have to be planning for the North Sea to have a shorter lifespan than previously thought. 

He says the ambitious goals set out in the Paris climate change agreement and the warning issued by the Governor of the Bank of England that economic reliance on fossil fuels represents a risk to financial stability. 

The Independent party and Scottish Greens will now lead a debate on jobs in Scotland's new economy.  

SNP MSP Roderick Campbell asks whether the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs considers that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is of benefit to Scotland.

SNP MSP Joan McAlpine asks when the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs will next visit Dumfries and Galloway. 

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop says the Scottish government has no plans to recognise the contributions of David Bowie to Scotland.

Ms Hyslop praises the organist playing Life on Mars in Glasgow.

She pays fulsome tribute to David Bowie for his positive impact on LGBT issues and in Scotland.

An organist whose musical tribute to David Bowie at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum went viral said he felt

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Chris Nickol decided to play Life on Mars during the regular lunchtime organ recital, after hearing of the singer's death on the morning news bulletins. 

Mobile phone footage of the performance has been viewed more than 1.7 million times on Facebook alone. 

Image source, Bearsden Choir

  Mr Nickol said it was a measure of Bowie's "song writing genius".   

Scottish Labour MSP Claudia Beamish asks what plans the government has to recognise the contribution that David Bowie made to the cultural life of Scotland and beyond.

Scottish Labour MSP Johann Lamont asks when the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs last met Glasgow City Council.

SNP MSP Ken Macintosh asks what support the government will provide to local museums and galleries following a reduction in the culture budget for 2016-17. 

International Development Minister Humza Yousaf says the refugee task force ensured refugees have received the warmest of welcomes in Scotland.

He says the Scottish government is in regular dialogue with the UK government about arrivals of refugees.

20,000 refugees being welcomed to the UK should be a floor and not a ceiling, says the minister.