In June I presented the findings of our Economy and People report, which we launched at an important time for our country.
The choices made this year will have the potential to shape our future for decades to come.
Our report sets out clear facts and evidence that can help inform those decisions. It is important that this information helps people understand why creating a homegrown energy transition is so important.
Our report comprises an integrated insight that reflects both our industry’s economic contribution to the UK economy plus a profile of the offshore energy sector’s workforce.
The report’s three key areas of focus are offshore investment opportunities, how to unlock them and the positive impacts they have on people and communities across every part of the country.
I am inspired by the opportunities in the UK energy sector. They have the potential to transform how we power our society.
A homegrown energy transition is one where the expertise of our highly skilled people is used to deliver the projects needed for net zero.
If we get this right, we can protect and create jobs and provide greater economic contributions in more vibrant energy communities. We can do all of this while producing secure, reliable and sustainable energy.
Our report shows the potential for adapting current expertise – and how new entrants to the industry can be part of the solution, driving innovative change to deliver the lower carbon energies of the future.
We are committed to collaboration between employers, trade unions and industry bodies to ensure more opportunities, high standards and fair and equitable conditions are there for our workforce as they rise to the challenge.
Although our people and companies are proud of their contribution, their potential is at risk. A stable economic environment, fair investment conditions and certainty about the pipeline of future projects are vital to drive progress and positive change.
Policymakers should be motivated to support our people so they can work to realise the sector’s full potential.
We are in a global race for skilled people and investment, and we will only succeed if the UK is viewed internationally as a good place to do business.
There are currently around 154,000 jobs across the country which depend on the offshore energy sector. Almost 80% of them are reliant on oil and gas activity. This is a great platform to build on.
Creating more jobs, and adding more to the economy, depends on how effectively we can scale up supply chain capacity, manage our oil and gas production and advance progress in low carbon technologies like offshore wind, carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.
These will help transform our industrial and economic future.
If we don’t get this right, what could be a homegrown energy transition, could become an imported one instead. Other countries will gain from the opportunities we could have realised here.
Most major political parties agree on the importance of driving economic growth. It is important that we build on that consensus as a platform for moving forward.
The way forward is to choose a homegrown energy transition, so we can protect skills, secure investment and maximise sustainability – and do it in a way that leaves no individual, community or sector behind.
