The Initiative
Oil & Gas Transitions
Oil & Gas Transitions
Co-creating evidence to accelerate policy action in the North Sea
OGT aims to generate evidence and co-produced pathways for policy action to accelerate oil and gas transitions in the UK, Denmark and Norway. These three countries have committed to achieving ambitious carbon neutrality targets aligned with limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Yet, they are the three top oil and gas producing nations in Europe. Deep transformation of energy systems to transition out of all fossil fuels will be required for their targets to be realised, and while significant progress has been achieved in phasing out coal, we must now turn to the oil and gas sector as the next frontier. Oil and gas expansion plans remain in the UK (despite its recently announced North Sea Transition Deal) and Norway, with only Denmark setting a date to phase out the industry. This ‘ambition gap’ between net-zero promises and climate policies, and oil and gas industrial strategies, is the key issue we seek to address.
Industry, government, and community resistance to the transition is largely founded in concerns regarding its social and economic impacts. Thus, strategies to phase out oil and gas must also be just and equitable. A just and orderly transition will require policy coherence between emissions targets and the provision of policies which support economic diversification strategies, labour market plans, skills training, social security and support for companies in reorienting their business models.
To respond to this complex research and policy challenge, OGT will develop a better understanding of oil and gas transition scenarios for the North Sea; establish buy-in from key stakeholders; and enable collaboration to scale up innovation and early-stage just transition efforts.
Objectives
- Generating evidence of the role of oil and gas in the political economy within the UK, Norway and Denmark, focusing on the need, barriers and opportunities for a just transition.
- Co-producing just and feasible oil and gas transition pathways to 2050, alongside a diversity of key stakeholders from government, industry, civil society and academia.
- Drawing lessons from the North Sea to create roadmaps for raising ambition in other producing and non-producing countries facing similar oil and gas transition challenges.
Timeline

Approach

Evidence-based
Science-led multidisciplinary research undertaking. Aims to build robust evidence and co-produced just transition scenarios and present them to policy-makers and key stakeholders.

Catalysing
Catalysing: Strives to trigger exponential acceleration of climate action through a net-zero transformation of our energy systems to limit global warming to 1.5°C in line with the Paris Agreement.

Pluralistic
Brings together multiple viewpoints and voices for productive exchange and community-building. Engaging a diversity of stakeholders will help us to develop a shared understanding and joint vision for the transition.
Our Partners
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Research country partners:
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