SNP: Battle for North Sea just transition 'being lost in London'

Stephen Flynn, who represents Aberdeen South in the Commons, spoke out after a new report from experts at Robert Gordon University said that faster and more joined-up political action is needed.

The analysts looked at more than 6560 possible pathways for the energy industry between now and 2030, and concluded that political decisions rather than market forces will influence the size of the workforce.

Of the thousands of scenarios analysed, less than 0.3% could be considered a “just and fair” transition, their report found.

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Professor Paul de Leeuw said: “The UK still has a unique opportunity to create a new energy future.

“Accelerating the re-purposing of the North Sea as a world-class, multi-energy basin will ensure the sector can power the country for decades to come. The prize for the UK to get this right is enormous.

“But to deliver this requires action and urgency, which means faster planning and consenting and access to the grid.”

Flynn said that the majority of the key powers of energy are reserved to Westminster, and warned that the battle for a just transition was being lost in the London parliament.

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“This is a serious report on a serious issue from a renowned team and we should all be very conscious of its conclusions,” Flynn (below) said.

“It reaffirms the reality that we can have an energy transition that protects jobs and both Aberdeen and Scotland’s economic future, but that political decisions will drive its success.

“With almost all the main energy levers resting in Westminster, Labour’s plans are a perfect example as to how the transition could go so badly wrong, with 100,000 jobs on the line.

“We need to be driving investment in our energy industry to secure the workforce and supply chain of tomorrow – but I fear that time is running out and we are losing that battle in London.”

The warning comes after a poll of 2600 Scots found that three-quarters said they did not trust Westminster to manage the transition away from fossil fuels in a way which would be good for oil and gas workers and communities.

The UK Government said offshore wind is key to its energy transition plans.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: “The UK is the first major economy to halve its emissions, and we are leading the way in our transformation of the energy industry, with £100 billion investment in green industries supporting up to 725,000 jobs by 2030.

“Much of the transferable expertise from offshore energies such as oil and gas will be crucial for the transition to net zero – and our Green Jobs Plan will ensure we have the sufficient skills to tackle emerging and future workforce demands across the economy.”