Choose a secure future

Position the UK as an irresistible investment environment for energy production

• Ensure the UK tax regime is internationally competitive to attract and retain businesses in the UK for the long-term and excludes one-off targeted taxes for one-off events.
• UK tax regime must have long term predictability; full expensing of capital should be maintained with long term certainty on allowances which are designed to ensure a competitive regime.
• Investment mechanisms, such as allowances or credits, should be considered in more detail to deliver vital investment in net-zero technologies and infrastructure for long life assets.
• Play to the UK’s financial strengths – ensuring our world class financial hubs ensure access to capital throughout the transition for both green and transitional activity.
• Ensure throughout the transition, companies across the UK have access to finance, considering the role of public funded investment vehicles have investment priorities aligned with broader energy, infrastructure, and people policy.
• Create meaningful engagement and dialogue between governments, industry, and the workforce.

Investment in homegrown oil and gas will underpin a successful energy transition

• Continue offering of oil and gas production licences to attract investment in domestic oil and gas, including regular offshore production licence rounds that focus on infrastructure-led exploration and development of previously identified resources. All new licensing to be transparently shown to be in accord with the climate compatibility check point.
• To crowd in investment, the oil and gas ring-fenced fiscal regime should deliver predictability and offer a fair risk/reward balance between industry and governments and also maintain an appropriate balance of capital investment allowances.
• The Energy Profits Levy should be removed before 2028 to unlock this investment.

Delivering a self-sustaining low carbon energy sector at scale and pace will rely on targeted market based mechanisms which maximise the impact of ongoing public subsidy

• Price support mechanisms, such as contracts for difference have a crucial role to play in scaling offshore wind, CCS, and hydrogen, but should be gradually displaced by market led mechanisms.
• Such commercial mechanisms should be designed to promote domestic capabilities whilst seeking to build a market which is competitive for the long-term.
• To maximise UK carbon capture and storage opportunities non-pipeline transportation options must be supported whilst delivering a framework to maximise our storage potential to make the UK a CO2 storage destination, servicing the whole of Europe and beyond
• Support the scale up of the hydrogen market in the UK to include storage and permitting the blending of hydrogen into the national gas grid
• Link UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes to deliver carbon price parity and improve liquidity.
• Ensure that carbon border adjustment mechanisms maximise the opportunity of the transition including domestic activity.
• The long-term objective should be to grow low carbon sectors at pace in a revenue-neutral way for HMT that sees subsidies diminish and delivers enduring economic value.

Technology and innovation at the heart of the sector

• Experience of developing the North Sea shows the benefits of prioritising UK led research and development where public R&D spend is seen to crowd in private sector capital and support R&D activity across the whole of the UK.
• Champion UK-led public and private R&D to progress late-stage technology development and support proven, readily transferrable, oil and gas technology to be adapted to meet the needs of new energy production. We need an R&D regime which helps push UK investment to the top of the OECD, unlocking the full potential of the UK economy; industry will underpin this by ensuring it delivers 30% or greater locally sourced technology.
• Specialist hubs in R&D with energy expertise such as the Net Zero Technology Centre, ORE Catapult and the Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre should continue to benefit from targeted investment to foster growth.

Choose a homegrown energy transition

Contribute to an energy transition which leaves no individual, community, or sector behind.

Choose a skilled future

Protect over 200,000 high value jobs in the UK whilst growing the skilled and diverse workforce of the future.

Choose a secure future

Deliver £200 billion of private investment over the next decade, spurring economic growth and fostering UK technology and innovation across the energy mix.

Choose a sustainable future

Meet the UK’s net-zero commitment by 2050 or sooner, decarbonising offshore energy production to power homes and businesses across the breadth of the UK.