In the Scottish government’s Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, it outlined how the country may accelerate the ending of North Sea oil and gas production. Scotland is currently on track to “effectively end” its oil and gas production within the next 20 years, but the draft strategy looks to support the fastest possible just transition for the oil and gas sector and secure a “bright future” focused on renewables. “This work shows that, as an increasingly mature basin, production in the North Sea is expected to be around a third of 1999 levels by 2035 and less than 3% of the 1999 peak by 2050,” said Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport for Scotland. “This means that domestic production will effectively end within the next 20 years if we do nothing. The draft strategy is consulting on whether we should act faster than this”. The strategy also targets the production of at least 20 gigawatts (GW) of additional renewable energy capacity by 2030, which could generate around 50% of Scotland’s total energy demand, according to Matheson. Additionally, it targets the provision of 5GW from hydrogen – the equivalent of 15% of Scotland’s current energy needs – ultimately rising to 25GW by 2045.
The time for @scotgov leadership on ending new oil and gas in the North Sea is now.
Read our full reaction to the draft new Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan⬇️https://t.co/Wlz0dwxqkR pic.twitter.com/6kNEEZcj6q
— Oxfam Scotland (@OxfamScotland) January 10, 2023
