There’s more than one way to skin a rabbit. There are different views on how to reach the necessary net zero target for carbon emissions and reducing global warming.

We all agree that our energy requirements will be provided through a mixture of oil, gas, wind power, tidal power, and nuclear.

Some say we should use oil and gas fields that have already been opened but licence no more. Others say that we should use all north sea oil and gas rather than import it from abroad. That’s my strong view.

North sea oil energy is vital to our regional industrial base. Oil and gas will still fuel over a fifth of our energy consumption in 2050.

Offshore energy supports over 200,000 skilled jobs across the UK, including 2,400 in the North East.

Green infrastructure is essential and I’m an enthusiastic supporter of our offshore wind industry. But the energy transition does not require a binary choice.

The real threat to future jobs isn’t continued oil and gas, it’s spooking investment with premature declarations that this important industry is obsolete.

I’m not alone on this. Gary Smith, the leader of the GMB union, worries about exporting jobs and industry to China, where they burn coal to produce goods we import on diesel-burning vessels.

The FT reports that Britain is becoming more dependent on imports of North Sea gas from Norway and liquefied natural gas from countries including Qatar. LNG is three times more carbon intensive than our own gas.

It also rightly says that shedding fossil fuels too quickly also risks losing the offshore capacity needed for the shift to wind power and carbon capture in the North Sea. We can have both as we strive to stave off further climate change.