Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The deep Green sea: Blueprint for future of rigs

© Shutterstock / StudioByTheSeaPost Thumbnail

Scotland can turn the North Sea into a “Green Sea” as part of a national effort to become a zero-carbon society while creating thousands of jobs, according to a report.

The study – the first from former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s ScotlandCan initiative – calls on the Scottish and UK Governments to agree a joint strategy which sets out ambitious targets for investment and renewal in energy from the North Sea.

“A Green North Sea will bring exciting opportunities for Scotland, both in its ability to lead the way towards the renewable focused future and in transforming its economy at home,” said the report’s author and lead researcher, Evie Robertson.

“Scotland must collaborate with the UK government to achieve these objectives. A divided island will only act to curtail progress and potential.” The study has been released ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference due to be held in Glasgow in November.

The report, written in consultation with Scottish energy experts and industry leaders, has been released alongside a study by former BP executive Nick Butler.

The paper opposes proposals to end oil and gas activity in the North Sea, warning that such a move would leave the UK short of energy.

Instead, it supports a managed drawdown of oil and gas activity, combined with rapid investment in a new renewable energy plan for Scotland.

With oil and gas activity likely to continue well into the 2050s, the report argues that the country should invest in electrifying the rigs network, so they no longer rely on gas for power, and integrate them where possible with other offshore power sources such as wind farms. This could cut emissions from the sector by 40% within a decade, it claims.

The experts also call for the UK and Scottish governments to power up a new decommissioning strategy, to service old rigs in the North Sea and abroad.

Eddie Barnes, project manager for ScotlandCan, said: “Scotland can be a world leader in the new green revolution.”

Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “We recognise it is vital to move quickly to seize the opportunities of taking forward a green, low-carbon energy agenda.

“We will continue to work with and, where appropriate, challenge the UK government to take action in key reserved policy areas in order to achieve our net-zero ambitions.

“We are already making bold investment in supporting our energy sector to transform and diversify.”