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As an Aberdeen MSP and north-east loon, I think that, given that one in every six jobs in the north-east are energy related, if there is not a just transition for those workers, we are in real trouble.

Professor Underhill, in relation to your four recommendations as well as the issues of meeting climate compatibility and retaining energy security, is Norway following your line when the UK seems not to be interested? Have the Norwegians got it right? Are they following what you suggest?

I will expand a little on the deputy convener’s line of questioning. The minister has pointed out the way in which the issue will be dealt with if incidents happen during the course of travel. However, as many members around the table have experienced, the complaints are mainly about where the antisocial behaviour takes place. People travel on the bus, get off the bus, commit the antisocial behaviour, then get back on the bus. A prime example of such behaviour is in the Union Square shopping centre in Aberdeen. Lots of folk are saying, “Why on earth have these kids got the ability to travel from one end of the city to the other to cause chaos, then go away?”

We need to know where all of this applies—whether it is just on the bus or where folk have used free travel to get to an area and cause antisocial behaviour there. We need more clarity on that.

Beyond that, what your officials have described is basically that criminality would have to have taken place in order for the card to be withdrawn. That is grand, but there is a fine line between what some folks would see as antisocial behaviour and what others would see as annoyance. The code of conduct needs to be explicit about such things.

When I was going home the other week on the Megabus, a woman on the bus barked orders at her dog all the way from Edinburgh to Aberdeen. Quite frankly, it was doing me in—but, let us be honest, that is not any reason to take away the woman’s bus pass.

We need to say explicitly where the lines are. Is it only criminality? What constitutes antisocial behaviour? We cannot do that, sitting here today. How are you going to convince the committee, minister, that what you are embarking on—which I think is the right thing to do—covers all the bases that we want to be covered and, beyond that, is fair and equitable?

The original question was about the Scottish Government’s position, but we know that the future of oil and gas production and licensing in the North Sea is reserved to the UK Government.

Mr Whitehouse said that 75 per cent of our energy use still comes from oil and gas and that 75 per cent of energy jobs are still in oil and gas. To lose that without other jobs being available would be disastrous. Your organisation has said that you want politicians to commit to continued licensing and that you want reform of the energy profits levy before 2030. What will happen if that is not the case? What will happen if we do not follow Norway’s route of continuing to drill in fields that have already been explored?

Professor Underhill, in your recent review, which was published in August 2025, you called for four things: permitting near-field and infrastructure-led exploration; strengthening regulation and stewardship; safeguarding critical infrastructure, as Mr Whitehouse mentioned; and supporting industry confidence. Current policy does not allow for a number of the things that you called for, and it certainly does not support industry confidence.

In answer to the previous question, you talked of power cuts. Some would possibly accuse you of scaremongering, but there is the possibility, if we do not get the transition absolutely right, that that would happen, or, as you pointed out, that we would rely on more carbon-intensive gas from the US and Qatar.

What do we need to do? Does the UK Government need to follow the four proposals that you have made as a neutral academic?

Convener, I was going to ask another question later, but Professor Underhill has kind of led into it. Should I ask it now and get it over with?

It is down to a lack of industry confidence as well as supply.

It is only just hyperbole, because there is now so little gas storage.

I will be brief, and I will not take the opportunity to talk about Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, because we could talk about that for hours.

Professor Underhill, you mentioned carbon capture. What are the prospects for the delivery of the Acorn project in Scotland? What needs to be in place for that project to proceed? One thing that has to be in place is the survival of production from some fields, such as Jackdaw. Can you give us a quick overview of that, please?

Thank you.

I declare an interest as a member of Unison.

The climate change plan has to be delivered by not only Government but others; it is all about delivery and delivering for people. Dougie Maguire mentioned inaction from local authorities when it comes to grasping community benefit. However, there is probably also inaction when it comes to following the likes of Baden-Württemberg in investing in the future and using the likes of local government pension schemes to boost manufacturing for jobs for the future—which, certainly, I want, coming as I do from the north-east of Scotland, where an unjust transition will hit hardest.

Should we be more open than we have been, thus far, to investment from local authorities, particularly from their pension schemes, in order to deliver?

Dougie, since I mentioned you, please go first.