Renewables Boom Leaves Scotland’s Oil Workers Behind

November 20, 2025

Members of Parliament (MPs) warned that Scotland’s North Sea oil and gas sector is collapsing faster than renewable jobs can replace it, accusing the UK Government of failing to protect workers.

The Scottish Affairs Committee described the situation as a “demolition” of the industry, despite Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s pledge of 40,000 clean energy jobs by 2030.

The UK government is under pressure to allow more drilling near existing North Sea fields and take a “pragmatic” approach to new licenses. MPs also criticized the windfall tax on oil and gas profits, warning that the Labor policy could speed up job losses and leave workers unemployed.

Andrew Bowie, the Conservative Party’s (Tory) shadow secretary for Scotland, condemned what he called the “devastating impact” of the Labor Party and the SNP on the oil and gas industry. “Their irrational desire to kill off this industry is tantamount to an act of national self-harm. That’s not a transition, it’s a demolition,” he argued.

Meanwhile, SNP (Scottish National Party) Energy Spokesman Graham Leadbitter cautioned that the Labor Party-led UK government’s fiscal and licensing policies are decimating jobs in Scotland’s offshore oil and gas industry. “We found clean energy jobs are not being created at the pace or scale required to match the job losses arising from the decline of the North Sea oil and gas industry,” he noted.

MPs also reported that workers in northeast Scotland are leaving the oil and gas sector and moving abroad to find employment. They asserted that the UK government’s plans for a just transition, which aim to retrain workers for renewable energy (RE) roles, are progressing too slowly.

(Also read: Surge in Foreign Investment Powers up Country’s Green Revolution)

Inside Grangemouth Refinery’s shutdown

The century-old Grangemouth oil refinery, Scotland’s only operational refinery, officially ceased refining in April 2025 after more than a century of operation. Its owner, Petroineos, cited rising operating costs and falling fuel demand caused by the growth of electric and hybrid vehicles and the government’s diesel and petrol bans as key reasons for the shutdown.

The transition to a fuel import and distribution terminal drastically reduced staffing from around 500 to just 65 full-time roles. Knock-on effects in the supply chain and local economy threaten thousands of additional jobs, potentially creating a £403 million (US$529.7 million) annual deficit for the region.

Trade unions warned of devastating impacts on workers, families, and the wider Grangemouth community. They described the closure as “absolutely devastating”, with the existing poverty in Grangemouth expected to “significantly increase” as a result of these job losses.

Governments were aware of the refinery’s financial struggles years in advance, yet planning for a just transition was delayed. Initiatives such as Project Willow, a feasibility study exploring future industrial opportunities, and a Just Transition Fund, along with a UK Government skills retraining program, aim to bridge the employment gap. However, new industrial projects may not begin until 2028, and long-term employment recovery remains uncertain.

Grangemouth has become a test case for managing energy transition, underscoring the need for proactive government intervention, long-term planning, and meaningful collaboration with trade unions and communities. Experts stress that earlier, transparent exit plans could have mitigated the social and economic trauma caused by sudden redundancies.

Scotland’s green transition & its effect on employment

Scotland initiated its green transition with increasing ambition over the last decade. The Scottish Government declared a climate emergency in April 2019 and set a target of net‑zero greenhouse‑gas emissions by 2045, with a 75 % reduction by 2030.

According to Scotland’s Climate Change Plan 2026-2040, the Scottish Government has identified five key “opportunity areas” where Scotland can leverage its existing strengths and growth potential. These areas include wind energy, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), professional and financial services, hydrogen, and clean energy-intensive industries, including decarbonized traditional sectors such as chemicals, paper, and steel, as well as emerging industries like data centers.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Scotland led the green jobs revolution in 2024, with green job postings having tripled since 2021. At the time, the nation had the highest share of green job adverts in the UK.

Despite the optimism, there remain substantial job risks tied to the green transition for the following reasons:

Decline of fossil fuel sectors

In 2021, total direct and indirect employment in the UK oil and gas sector stood at less than half of the jobs recorded in 2014. Employment is projected to continue its long-term decline, with total direct and indirect jobs expected to fall to around 105,000 by 2030, reflecting reduced industry activity.

Location issues

While studies suggest that the green transition could create more jobs than it destroys, new opportunities may appear in different regions, meaning some workers might need to relocate to take them. For instance, a study in Spain found that RE jobs could replace many lost fossil fuel roles, but their locations determined whether affected workers could realistically access them. In the UK, the oil and gas industry is concentrated in North-East Scotland, so people in this region are expected to face the greatest challenges as employment shifts in the energy sector.

Employment gaps

Scotland’s wind energy sector is struggling to deliver jobs, creating just one position for every £1 million in turnover, according to the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC). By comparison, oil and gas generate 13.4 jobs per £1 million.

The STUC says the industry is dominated by large multinationals, leaving Scottish manufacturers on the sidelines. Criticizing the government’s energy strategy, STUC called its promises of job growth “hot air,” warning that without public investment in domestic manufacturing and stronger supply chains, Scotland will miss out on fair work opportunities.

Worker sentiment & fear

A recent poll revealed that only one in five Scots believe the shift from oil and gas to RE will create jobs. While Scotland has more at stake in the drive to cut emissions than any other UK nation, confidence in the economic and climate benefits of the transition is low. Fewer than half of Scots feel positive about the shift, while 21% feel negative—the highest proportion across the UK.

General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union (GMB) Scotland secretary Louise Gilmour criticized the process, saying workers’ voices have been ignored. She emphasized that skilled oil and gas workers understand the real demands of the transition and warned that “Promises of green jobs tomorrow mean nothing when real jobs are being lost today and, so far, this transition has been something done to our workers and their communities, not with them.”

(Also read: Green Energy, Steep Costs: The Netherlands’ Reality Check)

The Human Cost of the Energy Transition

Britain’s top energy companies warned that household energy bills could rise sharply in the coming years as the cost of green levies continues to climb. While RE policies aim to cut emissions and secure a low-carbon future, they have also triggered immediate economic pressures.

Scotland’s oil and gas‑dependent communities are feeling the impact most acutely, as thousands of jobs have disappeared faster than new green roles can replace them. Promises of clean-energy employment remain distant for the workers and families who rely on the industry for their livelihoods.

The differing trajectories of cost and opportunity highlight a growing challenge for workers in the oil and gas industry. While the net-zero strategy outlines plans for clean-energy employment, the pace of job creation has been slower than anticipated, and uncertainties remain over retraining, relocation, and regional disparities.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the net-zero transition is driving growth in skill-intensive jobs that are largely concentrated in urban areas. “Without policy action, low-skill workers and households in rural areas would bear most of the burden of the transition, while high-skilled urban workers would be in the best position to reap the benefits,” it stated.

Scotland’s energy transition, while essential for a low-carbon future, risks leaving behind the very communities that built the nation’s oil and gas industry. Policymakers and industry leaders face an urgent challenge to ensure that the shift to renewables is pragmatic and delivers not just environmental gains, but also secure, accessible employment for all regions. Without coordinated action on skills training, job creation, and regional support, the promise of a green economy may remain out of reach for those who need it most.

Sources:

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/15485009/scotland-oil-gas-industry-demolished-jobs-warning-issued

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmselect/cmscotaf/459/report.html

https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/q2lhg1v5/green-jobs-in-scotland-report_final-4.pdf

https://www.pwc.co.uk/press-room/press-releases/regions/scotland/green-jobs-barometer-scotland-2024.html

https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/113368/1/Denyer_thesis.pdf