Party leaders react: Report warns next UK Government has 100 days to save 100,000 energy jobs

The next UK Government will have just 100 days to save 100,000 North Sea jobs, a report from Aberdeen Grampian Chamber of Commerce has warned.

The Energy Transition report reveals there has been a sharp decline in work across production, exploration and renewables as investors await the outcome of the general election.

According to the survey, industry confidence in the North Sea has plummeted to a record low citing "high taxes and a potential ban threatening to bring our world class domestic oil and gas industry to a premature end".

The chamber has estimated the party who takes over Westminster in July will have just 100 days to restore confidence or £30 billion worth of investment could be lost.

Published on Monday, the survey shows companies expect only 51% of their work to be in renewables by 2030 - up from the current figure of 34%.

Russell Borthwick, chief executive at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Energy Transition survey has charted the highs and lows of the UK’s energy sector for the past 20 years, but never before have its findings been so important; and the need for action so urgent.

“From our survey and listening to focus groups, we believe the next government has just 100 days to convince industry that there is a future in the UK Continental Shelf.

“Failure to do so will result in the current apathy, which is evident throughout this report, turning to open revolt, where companies move their resources on to countries which offer a less hostile business environment and better returns.

"Privately, industry leaders are being very clear that this will be the outcome of an extended windfall tax with scaled back allowances.

“Should this transpire, our path to net zero could look more like a road to nowhere. A road that leaves the UK poorer, less energy secure, and beholden to foreign regimes for the energy we need to keep the lights on and our economy running.

How did party leaders react?

During a campaign visit to Falkirk on Monday, Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross claimed only his party are supporting the oil and gas sector.

He said: "Only the Scottish Conservatives are supporting the sector, supporting the skilled workers within the oil and gas sector and the just transition to greener renewable energies into the future.

"The SNP, Labour and all of the other parties want to turn their back on the North East, turn their back on the workers in the North Sea. So, only by voting Scottish Conservatives can we guarantee a strong future for that industry at the moment, for many years to come and see a transition to renewable forms of energy”

First Minister John Swinney made the SNP's plans clear during the general election campaign trail in Dumfries yesterday - stating they aim to work closely with the energy industry to achieve a smooth transition to net zero.

Mr Swinney said: “I want to make sure that as we make our journey to net zero, we work closely and in collaboration to the oil and gas sector.

"There’s got to be a just transition for everyone involved in the oil and gas sector, that means we’ve got to manage that transition carefully. Of course, that’s been made more difficult because the tax regime - which is more challenging for the oil and gas sector - has been prolonged by both the Conservatives and Labour parties.

"So, I want to make sure that we work with the oil and gas sector to address the difficult transition that has got to be made.”

Last year, the Labour party was criticised by the industry after leader Sir Kier Starmer pledged to end oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

However, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar insisted yesterday during a visit to a windfarm in South Lanarkshire there will be "no cliff edge".

Responding to the report, he said: "If you look back to the 1997 election - the last time we were trying to elect a labour government and (we were) successful - we were promising windfall taxes, we were promising national minimum wage and at the same time people were making big scare stories about hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost.

"It didn’t happen, instead people’s pay went up, people were lifted out of poverty and our economy grew.

"I believe the exact same will happen again through GB energy and our new deal for working people that will make work pay. We will transform our economy, we will get wages up, we will get bills down, we will get more jobs, we will get greater energy security and we will deliver climate leadership.

"This is a plan that is good for Aberdeen and the North East, good for Scotland, good for the UK and that’s why it’s the centre of this election campaign."

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey visited North Queensferry on Monday to launch his party's Scottish election campaign.

When asked about the AGCC survey, he said there is "no case" to end drilling in the North Sea.

“We understand it’s a serious issue. We do have to prepare for the energy of the future and make sure bills come down and renewables and energy efficiency are clearly the best way to do that.

"But to those people in the oil and gas sector, the one thing the Liberal Democrats have championed above any other party has been carbon capture and storage and carbon capture and usage and storage.

"When I was secretary of state for energy and climate change, we were trying to get the gas CCS project at Peterhead. If we had got that project through, it would have been a real protection for jobs in the oil and gas sector and that’s the way forward.

"I’m afraid the Scottish Conservatives have let the people of Scotland down, they have let the oil and gas industry down when they cancelled that CCS project."

Fresh calls for independent body

The chamber is also calling for an independent body to oversee the energy transition.

It believes the body should be charged with developing recommendations commanding cross-party consensus and insulate the sector from 'policy shocks' in the future.

It was found in the survey more than two-thirds of energy sector companies (67%) believe that none of the UK's political parties are putting forward the correct strategy for energy transition.

Russell Borthwick continued: “To set a different path – one where the UK seizes the huge economic opportunities of the energy transition – requires a diversity of thought and approach, and reflect the views of industry, academics and workers.

“We need a new body, free of political interference, to make the right decisions for the long-term future of our energy sector. I thought that was important before. I now believe it is essential.”

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.