LAST week saw the UK Government's long awaited plan to supposedly deliver energy security and tackle climate change.

However, this is a government that is already planning over 100 new drilling licences for the North Sea and has announced the opening of the first coal mine for over 30 years.

At the heart of the plan is a commitment to double down on nuclear energy with the so-called "Great British Nuclear" scheme.

But calling something great does not make it so. Nuclear energy is extremely costly, dangerous and takes years to become operational. It will also leave a very long and toxic legacy for future generations to deal with.

If the controversial Hinkley Point C nuclear development in England is anything to go by, it will cost tens of billions of pounds and will take decades before it becomes operational and we begin to see any of the supposed benefits. Sinking that kind of money will only drive up bills further.

The debates about nuclear power are not new. They have raged on for decades, and the responses from the pro-nuclear lobby are as unconvincing as they have ever been. It's not as if we don't have alternatives. Renewable energy is far cheaper, cleaner and quicker to get installed.

But by classifying nuclear power as an "environmentally sustainable" energy source, the UK Government may well allow nuclear giants to access the same support as renewable energy projects.

There is also a big question of democracy. The Scottish Government has rightly opposed nuclear power in Scotland, and we must ensure that people here are not paying for a project that we have opposed time and again.

The plan itself is too little too late, even on its own terms.

The ambition is for nuclear power to provide a quarter of the UK's energy by 2050, but even if it's possible, that would barely scratch the surface of the change that is needed and the timeframe within which we need it.

We simply don't have time to waste on it.

Instead our focus should be on using the green technology that is already available and providing the best possible pathway to net zero.

Some of that means recognising the huge open goals around us.

There are great renewables projects that could be delivering the climate action we need here and now, but they are stuck waiting years for a connection to the electricity grid.

It is a frustrating problem and one that can be fixed, but, unless the UK Government acts to speed up grid connections, it will hold back Scotland's renewable ambitions.

The reality is that we can't wait. That was made clear by the recent UN climate change report that gave its most stark warnings to date and called for global climate action on all fronts, "everything, everywhere, all at once."

With Greens in government in Scotland, we are prioritising climate change and delivering the progressive change that is so badly needed. It is long past time for Downing Street to do the same.