This report presents findings from the Oil and Gas Transitions programme, which aims to accelerate just transitions amongst producers in the North Sea. The report offers insights gained from co-production workshops on fossil fuel transition scenarios, held with stakeholders from industry and civil society in Denmark, Norway and the UK. It sets out related policy considerations that focus on supply-side interventions related to the pursuit of just transitions and that are relevant for countries in other regions of the world seeking to make similar transitions.

The authors argue that these governments should play a central role in phasing out fossil fuels – particularly given that the North Sea is a mature region of production where countries have ambitious carbon-neutrality targets. The authors contend that these producers should already be putting in place transition strategies to ensure that no one is left behind. The report itself indicates that, in response to crises (the pandemic and the war in Ukraine), countries have instead adopted measures that support the fossil fuel industry; such state interventions lock in emissions for decades to come and help maintain global dependency on oil and gas resources.

The authors underscore that long-sighted political leadership is needed for governments to take decisive first steps, such as scaling up investments into clean energy and transition technologies, and removing fossil fuel subsidies and skewed taxation policies. The energy and cost-of-living crises unleashed by recent oil and gas price volatility and the deadly impacts of global warming provide a glimpse at the long-term costs of inaction, the report notes.

The authors emphasize the need for governments to establish participatory planning processes with a range of stakeholders needed to chart the way forward and overcome resistance to the transition among the public and within the oil and gas industry itself.