Building the North Sea’s Energy Future - a response
14 May 2025
Jingyi Li, Alejandro Gallego Schmid, Cathy Hollis, and Jonathan Redfern collaboratively submitted The University of Manchester’s response to the ‘Building the North Sea’s Energy Future’ consultation by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
The University of Manchester’s response called for a just and inclusive transition for oil and gas workers into clean energy sectors. Key proposals included conducting a national skills and transition audit, developing age-responsive retraining pathways, and expanding higher education’s role in workforce reskilling. The submission supported targeted tax reliefs and licensing incentives for companies investing in clean energy, with safeguards to prevent fossil fuel expansion. It recognised CCUS as an important technology for hard-to-abate sectors but opposed its use to justify continued oil and gas extraction. The response also stressed inclusive recruitment, transparent transition metrics, and the necessity of geothermal energy as an underinvested opportunity aligned with UK subsurface capabilities.
Strong public sector leadership and accountability were recommended to avoid repeating past mistakes and to ensure regional and workforce resilience.
The full response can be requested by emailing jingyi.li@manchester.ac.uk.