Aberdeen - a future beyond oil
Thousands of jobs depend on how Europe's oil capital moves towards renewable energy. We hear from two former oil industry workers who are now focusing on a greener future.
Faced with the climate emergency, Aberdeen is having to move away from oil - an industry that has created half a million jobs and brought wealth to north east Scotland. Production in the North Sea peaked about 20 years ago and since then the UK has gone from producing more energy than it needs, to importing it from other countries. Price rises following the Covid pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have also raised concerns about the UK's energy security.
So what happens next? Some young people are still banking on a career in the oil industry. Others are focusing on a greener future in renewable energy. Thousands of livelihoods and the future of the planet depend on politicians and industry experts finding the right answers.
For 5 Minutes On, Scotland's energy correspondent, Kevin Keane, talks to two people who've had careers in oil and gas and are now working for offshore wind companies. They tell him that Aberdeen has all the infrastructure in place to power a revolution in offshore renewable energy - and that jobs and skills from oil are easily transferable. For them, the city's future is still bright.
Photo credit: Andy Buchanan via Getty Images
