Investment from the private sector of the order of £100 billion is required to drive forward key projects that will safeguard the UK's energy security, according to a new report from the offshore energies industry.
The Offshore Energies UK's 2023 Economic Report said the funding is also needed to get the renewables infrastructure that will take the UK to net zero by 2050 up and running as soon as possible.
The report said total offshore energy spend could reach £200 billion ($251.5 billion) by 2030, with the focus on oil and gas, offshore wind, carbon capture and storage and low carbon hydrogen.
According to the report, half of that money is ready to go, but businesses need confidence that the regulatory and policy frameworks are in place before giving final sign-offs.
Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) points out that the £100 billion will be unlocked only once government policy gives the industry its unequivocal support through a stable and globally competitive tax regime and improved planning and regulatory timelines.
Energy security and the UK jobs that will be created on the path to net zero need to be protected from the turbulence that often emerges in the political arena, certainly in the run-up to elections, OEUK said.
"Parliaments may thrive on opposition and argument, but we know big engineering projects only succeed through collaboration," said David Whitehouse, chief executive of OEUK.
"The transition to net zero will be the biggest engineering project this country has ever seen. We need consensus to support the very industries and workers whose skills are vital for building our energy future.
"In recent months we have felt the direct impact of underinvestment in homegrown energy on job security for our workers, the competitiveness of our firms internationally and our future energy bills.
"Our report shows that with the right frameworks in place, this industry can make the long-term investments to help the UK tackle these challenges head on.
"The UK mustn't just become a good place to do energy business, it must become irresistible," he added.
Unions, meanwhile, have said that while investment is crucial, it all has to be linked with the workers who will actually make the net-zero projects a reality.
“Offshore energy is essential now and as part of a green future for the UK. But we can only get net zero through a worker-led transition," said Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite.
"Government support and incentives must be linked to collective bargaining and guaranteed jobs, pay and conditions for all the many thousands of workers in offshore energy and supporting industries.
“We cannot have a repeat of the devastation wrought on workers and their communities by the closure of the coal mines.”
'Low levels of expected investment'
There have been recent warnings that the UK is at risk of lagging behind when it comes to green energy investment and production, despite being a global leader in energy transition in recent years.
Last month, a report by Energy UK, said the UK was suffering from relatively "low levels of expected investment" compared in particular with the United States, which passed the Inflation Reduction Act last year, pledging $370 billion for energy transition.
Meanwhile, the European Union stepped up its own tax reduction and incentive measures for investments in net-zero projects.
On Tuesday, the UK government's Energy Bill began its final journey through the House of Commons, with an amendment that eases the de facto ban on onshore wind in England that was added following pressure from environmental campaigners and some Conservative politicians.
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
