Just transition? Why Aberdeen is facing mass job losses like 1980s coal communities

Scotland’s Just Transition Commission has issued a stark warning about failings that could have historic consequences for the North East

The Scottish Government has no plan for a ‘just transition’ that could save thousands of energy industry jobs as oil supplies dwindle and the country moves towards net zero. That’s the explosive claim made by none other than the Scottish Government’s own Just Transition Commission and, presumably, they should know.

It is estimated that some 2,000 North Sea jobs have been lost over the past 18 months, and there are fears that up to 4,000 more could go in the next two years.

Professor Dave Reay, the commission’s co-chair, said it felt like “we are sleepwalking into an unjust transition” that could cause lasting damage to the economy and communities.

“We are at risk of losing people to overseas investors, to other countries, when we need those people here. If we want a growing economy, a net-zero transition, we need those skilled workers,” he said. “There’s a real risk now that we are looking at a repeat of previous unjust transitions in coal and steel...”

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Jobs being lost in the North Sea oil and gas industry are not being replaced quickly enough by replacements in the renewables sector (Picture: Andy Buchanan/WPA pool) | Getty Images

World-leading marine renewables industry?

This report should be a major wake-up call to both Scotland’s governments and the industry. For too long, warm words have been used to mask the lack of substantive action.

We have known for years that the North Sea’s reserves are running out and also about the need to reduce carbon emissions. It has also been clear that Scotland has a real chance to use the expertise in marine engineering, built up over decades, to create a world-leading marine renewables industry.

However, as Reay pointed out, if those skilled workers lose their oil industry jobs without others to go to, whether in renewables or fossil fuels, many will decide to move to other, more enlightened countries.

READ MORE: Labour needs to back Scotland's carbon capture project to help save North East

This should be no surprise for followers of the SNP’s performance in government, given their dismal record of failing to ‘deliver’ on their promises, from climate change targets to ferries and the dualling the A9. But news about Labour’s much vaunted public company, GB Energy, also seems to have gone decidedly quiet.

As Scotland continues careering towards the much-feared ‘cliff-edge’ of mass job losses, an urgent change of course is required.