North Sea Oil & Gas Is Dying, What Comes Next? | Ep218: Tessa Khan
If the UK can’t ditch fossil fuels, who can? What impact would more drilling in the North Sea have for UK energy prices? What does the end of the net zero consensus mean for UK energy policy?
This week on Cleaning Up, host Bryony Worthington sits down with Tessa Khan, founder of Uplift, a charity challenging the oil and gas industry's hold on UK energy policy. A lawyer turned campaigner, Khan offers incisive analysis of why the North Sea's fossil fuel era must end.
Drawing from her background in international human rights and development, Khan reveals how the UK could become a global pioneer in energy transformation. She unpacks the economic myths perpetuated by the oil and gas lobby, exposes the minimal benefits of continued extraction, and champions a just transition to renewable energy.
With the UK at a critical political crossroads, Khan offers a masterclass in strategic advocacy, blending data, political insight, and a passionate vision for a sustainable future.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Discover more:
- Tessa Khan’s organisation, Uplift: https://www.upliftuk.org/
- Uplift’s report on the future of the North Sea: https://www.upliftuk.org/post/the-future-of-the-north-sea
- UK Oil & Gas Reserves Report: https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/media/8394/reserves-and-resources-2022.pdf
- BBC article on Rosebank emissions guidance: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c994v5dy3p0o
Bryony Worthington
Co-Director / Quadrature Climate Foundation
Baroness Bryony Worthington is a Crossbench member of the House of Lords, who has spent her career working on conservation, energy and climate change issues.
Bryony was appointed as a Life Peer in 2011. Her current roles include co-chairing the cross-party caucus Peers for the Planet in the House of Lords and Co-Director of the Quadrature Climate Foundation.
Her opus magnum is the 2008 Climate Change Act which she wrote as the lead author. She piloted the efforts on this landmark legislation – from the Friends of the Earth’s ‘Big Ask’ campaign all the way through to the parliamentary works. This crucial legislation requires the UK to reduce its carbon emissions to a level of 80% lower than its 1990 emissions.
She founded the NGO Sandbag in 2008, now called Ember. It uses data insights to advocate for a swift transition to clean energy. Between 2016 and 2019 she was the executive director for Europe of the Environmental Defence. Prior to that she worked with numerous environmental NGOs.
Baroness Bryony Worthington read English Literature at Cambridge University