Plans are afoot for the north-east of Scotland to become an ‘Energy Transition Zone’, so that the area can diversify economically from being principally an oil and gas hub to be more broadly involved in the low-carbon energy future envisaged for the UK. Offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture are amongst the technologies and energy vectors that the collaboration between Opportunity North East, Aberdeen City Council and the Aberdeen Harbour Board is looking to encourage through the building of supporting infrastructure. The chairman of Opportunity North East is billionaire Sir Ian Wood, who built Wood Group into a multinational energy company based in Aberdeen, and he told the Financial Times that his nightmare has always been that future generations in the north-east would not enjoy the same prosperity that oil and gas has provided to his own generation. Sir Ian still sees a role for oil and gas for years to come, but also recognises that its role will diminish, especially if the industry does not act to reduce its carbon footprint. As Tim Eggar, chairman of the Oil and Gas Authority, warns, the industry’s “social licence to operate is under threat” if it does fail to act, a sentiment echoed by a member of Oil and Gas UK, who has said that the industry has been surprised by the shifting of public sentiment against it.