Many thanks, Andrew!

6️⃣ So many benefits will flow if we break free from business-as-usual.

Here is energy expert @tessakhan.bsky.social explaining why a renewables-based energy system is so superior.

Yes, the Government is pushing to green our grid, but that is only around a fifth of our energy use.
#NEB2025

Here's my take: bsky.app/profile/tess...

All up, this is a major break from past approaches to the N Sea, which have left industry in charge & hoped for the best. That approach has devastated communities & led to companies laying off workers while making huge profits. There's much more to do but this at least feels like a new start.
/END

The plan establishes a North Sea Future Board w union representation to oversee delivery. The Board is tasked with doing more to support the supply chain. It’s crucial that the Board, which should also include the Scottish gov, strengthens the overall plan for North Sea workers and communities.
/11

There's also been a recognition that for offshore wind to create jobs at scale, we need to ramp up manufacturing, upgrade port infrastructure, as well as support workers to redeploy in new sectors & ensure supply chains can pivot. The new plan doesn't get us there & needs to go much further
/10

The UK govt deserves some credit for recognising there's a need for a plan & taking big steps forward in the last year, including its Clean Energy Jobs Plan, which was welcomed by trade unions & recognises the need & potential for the transition to deliver good jobs in the UK's O&G heartlands
/9

It is a historic and hugely welcome development for a significant oil & gas producing country, a G7 economy & a country with significant historical responsibility for the climate crisis to take this step.
Now onto the just transition part of the plan...
/8

Although we've repeatedly said new licensing won't do anything for jobs (jobs supported by the sector have halved in a decade despite 100s of new licences being issued) nor energy security given how little gas is left, this is also a line that desperately needs to be drawn for a safe climate.
/7

The v big news is that the govt has jettisoned the principal objective of "maximising economic recovery of offshore oil & gas" for the O&G regulator (the NSTA), replacing it with objectives that align with the govts broader socio-economic & climate objectives. An eminently sensible, welcome move
/6

...lead to 45 mill barrels of oil equivalent in total. If they're all developed, which is unlikely. Given the Rosebank oil field is 500 mill barrels, this is a comparatively marginal amount of resource. Plus the govt has confirmed that it won't issue licences for onshore O&G anymore either.
/5

The plan includes a new instrument called a Transitional Energy Certificate, which effectively will enable already-discovered resources to be developed if they're linked to an existing field and needed for a managed transition. Our calculation is that these tie-backs would, at most...
/4

After 50 years of drilling here, this is a huge step. The gov states "alongside meeting our moral obligation to support today’s workers, we must also meet our moral obligation towards future generations by helping to tackle the climate crisis".
/3

Following a public consultation, the UK gov has published its North Sea Future Plan. It includes both detail on its approach to new oil & gas exploration licensing AND details on its support for the O&G workforce & communities. The headline is that there will be no new exploration licences issued
/2

Now discussing Jobs and Skills with @tessakhan.bsky.social, Richard Hardy of TU Prospect, Kenny MacInnis, Forth Valley College & Claire Mack of Scottish Renewables...