Outside Pittodrie Stadium, the seaside home of Aberdeen football club, stands a statue of Sir Alex Ferguson with his arms aloft.
Once a hotspot for its offshore energy, Aberdeen has seen the number residents employed in the sector dwindle and house prices plummet Such is the outrage at the proposals that Conservatives, Scottish National Party and even the Labour-supporting unions have formed an unlikely coalition to oppose them.
But even that transition - which all parties agree needs to happen - is under threat from Labour’s plans, experts say. The threats have sent shockwaves through the city, raising fears that even higher taxes will sound the death knell for the North Sea oil and gas sector - hitting future tax receipts and energy supplies in the process.
The sector’s air of despair and trepidation is spelt out in a recent survey by the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, which represents local business interests, and accountancy firm KPMG. ‘Should this transpire, our path to net zero could look more like a road to nowhere,’ says Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Russell Borthwick. ‘Confidence is at rock bottom.’It shouldn’t be like this. The oil price remains at a relatively high $80 a barrel but there is not a stetson to be seen on the subdued streets of Aberdeen.
It will invest an extra £7.3 billion in high-risk projects, including carbon capture and storage in the North Sea, in a bid to make Britain ‘a clean energy superpower’, Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband said. And the Government has been forced to deny reports that Mr Miliband has overruled his officials and banned the North Sea regulator from issuing any outstanding drilling and exploration licences, including those that were in their final round of approval.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, the spending watchdog, reckons its will cost £1.4 trillion to get to net zero. Experts say most of the money will have to come from the private sector. Even by 2050 - when the government is legally committed to hitting its net zero target - the Climate Change Committee reckons up to a quarter of Britain’s energy needs will still be met by fossil fuels.For example, there will still be 20 million homes heating and cooking on gas by the end of the decade, Mr Whitehouse notes.