URGENT action must be taken to “clean up the North Sea” because of the sharp rise in private equity firms and foreign state-owned companies operating in the area, including ones with alleged environmental abuses and worker exploitation.

More than one third of the exploration licences now have a private or state-backed controlling interest, with Chinese, Russian and Middle Eastern players becoming increasingly important, according to research by think tank Common Wealth.

They do not face the same public scrutiny and are not as accountable to shareholders as the oil majors – and environmentalists believe the trend could be “catastrophic” for the UK and Scottish governments’ plans to transition from fossil fuels.

They are questioning some companies’ commitment to climate change targets, pointing out they have links to organisations and individuals who lobby against climate action and are known to promote misinformation on climate change.

Analysis has also found that companies and individuals involved in North Sea oil and gas donated a total of £419,900 to the Conservatives immediately ahead of, and during, the UK Government’s recent licensing review.

Common Wealth’s director Mathew Lawrence said both the UK and Scottish governments had to show leadership in the run up to COP26 and make clear no new exploration licences would be granted.

“They are playing host to the most important climate summit in human history and one way to show leadership would be to secure a just transition for workers and communities linked to the oil and gas sector,” he said.

“North Sea oil wealth was squandered in the 1980s; that same mistake cannot be made again with renewable energy but that will only happen if there is a serious green industrial strategy to drive the transition and trade unions are on board shaping it.”

He pointed out that the normally conservative International Energy Authority had said no new oil exploration licences should be granted anywhere in the world and that should include the controversial North Sea Cambo project.

Lawrence said the change in North Sea ownership made it imperative no new licences were granted with the existing 1500 brought into line with the 1.5-degree pathway needed to combat climate change.

“COP26 makes it all the more urgent,” he said.

Miriam Brett, director of research and advocacy at Common Wealth, said the question of who owns North Sea oil and gas will influence how the UK charts a just transition.

“While the landscape was once dominated by the likes of BP and Shell, we now see the rise of private equity-backed and state-owned entities,” she said.

“This shift in ownership raises important questions, from levels of transparency to accountability and labour rights. Such questions need to be considered when designing how we wind down the industry in line with climate targets and as part of a just transition.

“Importantly, while the fossil fuel era has been dominated by concentrated ownership and extraction, a just transition presents an opportunity to reimagine our approach to energy, instead nurturing new infrastructures centred on democratic management, sustainability and shared prosperity.”

Brett said the Cambo controversy had exposed “deep inadequacies” in the current approach to North Sea oil and gas.

“Crucially, we need an energy strategy that secures a liveable planet for future generations,” said Brett.

“As the eyes of the world turn to us ahead of COP, the Scottish and UK governments should be designing a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels while scaling secure, green, unionised jobs and harnessing industries of the future, not deliberating over a licence for an 800-million-barrel oil field.”

Climate journal DeSmog has been investigating many of the private and state-owned companies that now have licences for the North Sea.

Mat Hope, investigations editor of DeSmog, said the landscape of ownership in the North Sea had “fundamentally changed” and it was only fair that people knew who was profiting from the “supposed crown jewel” of the UK’s energy system.

“North Sea oil is no longer owned by big companies,” he said.

“It is owned by smaller players, many of them tied to tax havens or foreign states, or owned by private equity.

“Given some of these companies’ histories, there is good reason to believe they don’t care about climate change, they don’t care about workers and they aren’t interested in contributing to the UK in a positive way.

“There needs to be systemic change to address the climate crisis but as the ownership and regulatory structure currently stands, it’s clear the UK is not doing enough to clean up the North Sea.”