Apropos of nothing, nothing at all, you should follow @tessakhan.bsky.social and @zoeavison.bsky.social. For all the hard truths and realism you need about the North Sea

Last year Scotland's only oil refinery closed at Grangemouth, leading to more than 400 job losses and threatening thousands more. I worked with @riyokoshibe.bsky.social interviewing Grangemouth workers as they faced redundancy. On Tuesday we're presenting research at MMU in Manchester. Come along!

Missions succeed when public finance delivers public value. While the UK is on track to deliver its Clean Power mission w its expansion in offshore wind, it must learn from the failures of PFI era and financialisation of utilities like Thames Water: don’t socialise risks & privatise rewards.

6️⃣ So many benefits will flow if we break free from business-as-usual. Here is energy expert @tessakhan.bsky.social explaining why a renewables-based energy system is so superior. Yes, the Government is pushing to green our grid, but that is only around a fifth of our energy use. #NEB2025

New post just out: "Power to the People" Today we have a guest post from @jamestplunkett.bsky.social on how Labour can counter the "Britain is Broken" narrative by investing in civic life and giving people more control over their community. (Free to read) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...

Very helpful thread ⬇️

Great to see!!

Have to take a moment to celebrate this historic win for the climate. Even though everyone knows it’s needed, it’s no small thing to commit to leaving fossil fuels in the ground. Epic work from the likes of Uplift and a Secretary of State who is doing the absolute best he can with what he’s got.

Huge news from the UK today: after UN climate talks in which there was a massive fight over language on fossil fuels, the UK government today announced that it will in fact be keeping many millions of barrels of oil & gas in the ground. Deeds rather than just words for a change! 🧵

Now discussing Jobs and Skills with @tessakhan.bsky.social, Richard Hardy of TU Prospect, Kenny MacInnis, Forth Valley College & Claire Mack of Scottish Renewables...

🔈We've got two exciting short-term opportunities at Uplift: a 3-month research consultancy to start ASAP and a 6-month policy advisor role starting in January 2026. Get in touch with any Qs! More details on our website: www.upliftuk.org/jobs

Delighted to have contributed to this important report with a piece on a fairer approach to taxing North Sea oil & gas. In short, we need tax policy that's aligned with the govt's clean energy & climate goals & that serves the long-term interests of the workforce, communities & the broader public.

The Scottish Affairs Committee's report on North Sea policy is absolutely right to conclude that, in recent years, there has been a disastrous failure to plan for job losses at Grangemouth and in North Sea oil & gas. But its findings are unfortunately already out of date. More detail in the 🧵:

Fascinating new case against Shell, pegged to new attribution science and fresh off the heels of the RWE opinion.

Scotland has everything it needs to win big from the energy transition: a proud industrial heritage, skilled energy workforce & world class renewable resources. As the 2026 elections approach, Uplift has developed our proposals for making energy work for Scotland: 🧵 www.upliftuk.org/post/make-en...

If you're at SNP Conference on Sunday, we've got a brilliant line up at our panel on how the SNP can help make a fair North Sea transition a reality, including the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy. Details 👇 - come along for a timely & vital discussion (& breakfast spread 🥐 !)

While the Tory party's energy & climate policy grows increasingly detached from reality, worth reflecting on a remarkable, under-reported event at Labour conference: the launch of Climate Jobs UK, a campaign by GMB, Prospect & other TUs focused on the creation of good jobs in the energy transition 🧵

Nick Robinson on Today this AM was completely wrong to suggest that pumping more oil & gas from the North Sea would lower bills, something even former Tory Energy Secretaries have accepted. We’ve burned most of the gas and export the vast majority of the oil—and oil is basically what’s left…

Ministers are considering a green light to expand existing North Sea oil and gas fields despite Labour’s manifesto pledge to ban new ones. @tessakhan.bsky.social says industry figures for those expansions are a "fantasy" Labour says manifesto will be met Story 👇 www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Before we get swept away by Trumps latest stream of consciousness, quick reflections on how the future of the Nth Sea played out at Lib Dem party conference which just wrapped. In short, LD declared themselves parliament's climate champions & underlined the importance of bringing communities along.🧵

"This isn't a choice between more North Sea drilling or imports — that ship has sailed. It’s between more imports or ramping up renewables. The transition must be better planned...but as long as the spectre of more drilling hovers, governments will continue to delay." My letter in today's FT:

"The reality is that the small print in the industry's own reports show that there is vanishingly small amounts of gas thats left to be extracted from the North Sea." Tessa Khan, Executive Director & Founder at Uplift, @tessakhan.bsky.social. On LBC with Clare Foges @lbc.co.uk.

If you're in sunny Bournemouth today, come along to the cracking panel we've organised to discuss how to secure a fair transition for the North Sea. Speakers include Lib Dem climate spokes @pippaheylings.bsky.social MP, Alastair Carmichael MP, Elliot Chapman-Jones & @dominicmhinde.bsky.social (& me)

If I get to Bournemouth (currently stuck on a train in the dark in Hampshire) I’ll be speaking tomorrow at the Marriott together with @tessakhan.bsky.social and @amcarmichaelmp.bsky.social at 11.30 on the future of the North Sea. Come, bring questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Some highly questionable industry assertions about ‘tiebacks’ and new oil & gas exploration licensing covered by the Sunday Times this morning, incl. the volume of potential production & the impact on jobs & supply chains. Let's take a closer look: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

🚨New survey finds oil & gas workers want decisive action from the UK government, Scottish government and industry to support the transition – but they aren’t getting it. Here’s what workers want: 🧵 www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2547...

"Almost all of those surveyed want more public investment in domestic wind manufacturing, as well as in UK ports so they are fit for energy projects." Must-read op-ed from @rosiehampton.bsky.social reflecting on their recent survey of UK oil & gas workers. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2547...

The FT’s John Gapper has offered his advice on North Sea oil and gas drilling this morning. Let’s start with what we agree on: The UK government needs a proper plan for the future of the North Sea. This is unarguable. 🧵

Dale Vince’s latest bright idea — giving even more subsidies to oil and gas giants and "optimising" production — is about as sensible as his plan to mass produce gas from grass. Let's discuss!

Only 1 in 5 Britons want less to be done to tackle climate change, and drivers of concern remain if lower down the pecking order, 60% of Brits worry about future heatwaves and nearly 80% think climate change at least partly responsible for weather this summer.

But Brits still overwhelmingly back renewables 64-10 *and* even those Britons who oppose net zero tend to support investment in renewables - 43% of those who think the target on net zero is a bad policy support investment in renewables, more than the number who oppose it (34%)

Somewhat sensationalist headline here obscures some really interesting research - which tallies with other available tracking data - on shifting attitudes to climate in the UK. Below are a few quick thoughts on how to understand this, in my view 👇 t.co/gDqlQgQBHn

also in today's guardian. big thanks to @richasyal.bsky.social, @robynvinter.bsky.social, and @tessakhan.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I would recommend this podcast featuring @tessakhan.bsky.social for an in-depth exploration of why the UK should not do more O&G. How it does not even make sense if you ignore climate. And how UK could lead the world in this - someone has to take the first step .... youtu.be/saFp0NGIzSc?...

“By giving a platform to climate deniers like Net Zero Watch and the Heartland Institute, Reform is showing contempt for the British public already living with the realities of climate breakdown” —Uplift’s @tessakhan.bsky.social on Reform UK’s conference which takes place in Birmingham on 5-6 Sept

The Conservatives often showed great climate leadership when they were in power, particularly at COP26 & in introducing net zero. It’s sad to see Kemi Badenoch’s lurch into ideology based evidence making.

Genuinely crackers statement from Kemi Badenoch this AM setting out her approach to North Sea oil & gas. As Badenoch says, "cheap abundant energy is the foundation of prosperity"... which is exactly why we need to plan to transition away from North Sea oil & gas and focus on renewables instead 🧵

Yeah this is what I'll make a cornerstone of my economy..

Good thread on why Labour are right to end new licenses in the North Sea. Also worth noting that the IEA (not traditionally bullish on these things) is now predicting that global oil consumption will peak by 2030 so it's a declining market anyway.

Read and share, read and share.

This thread is fundamentally bang on the money. It's like the policy of Maximum Economic Recovery doesn't exist...apart from it being in place for years upon years and literally the corner piece of the OGA's point of existence. Reform have fracking nonsense. The Torys have North Sea nonsense.

This is a superb thread, only one minor niggle on this point: part of the reason for this export level is that our refineries are not set up to process the grades of crude coming out of the North Sea. And no-one wants to invest in our ageing refineries.

This would be laughable if it wasn't so serious: yet again, the Tories are claiming that we can get "all our oil and gas" from the North Sea and that we should be doing even more to support the industry to extract. There are several reasons why we should treat this with maximum scepticism:

I'll be in #London next week with @toritsui.bsky.social, @tessakhan.bsky.social, @lucasamin.bsky.social, and more talking about how the fossil fuel industry has harnessed culture vs climate action, and how to wrestle it back. Come join us! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/earth-perc...

💵 ENERGY BILLS & RENEWABLES How much are they going up by? Why are they going up? What are the long-term causes of high bills? A short 🧵 on why the answer isn't all blowing in the wind...

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK would allow a fossil fuel company owned by a Donald Trump donor to open up a huge fracking site in Greater Lincolnshire It "shows exactly whose interests they serve – and it’s certainly not ordinary people" says @tessakhan.bsky.social‬ www.desmog.com/2025/08/27/r...

But if you’re reporting on Reform’s pro fossil fuel policies and not mentioning that it is a climate denialist party that thinks runaway global warming is nothing to worry about then you’re missing some pretty important context.

Agreed, clearly argued article, worth reading. "Rosebank would emit 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – more than all 28 low-income countries combined."

Excellent piece from @chrismurraymp.bsky.social on why it would be wrong for the UK govt to approve the Rosebank oil field. He’s absolutely right to say the arguments don't stack up — not on bills, on jobs, nor on climate. Let's hope the government takes note. www.lbc.co.uk/article/foss...

Powerful piece from an ex-North Sea oil & gas worker: "There is no future in oil. But there is a future for the people who work in it...We should be building infrastructure for the future, not squeezing the last drops of profit from a dying system." www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...