New chair of North Sea Transition Authority appointed

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has today appointed Liz Ditchburn as the new chair of the North Sea Transition Authority, (NSTA) the body responsible for overseeing the UK's offshore energy industries.

As former Director General for Economy for the Scottish Government, Ms Ditchburn has more than 35 years of experience as a public sector leader in UK and Scottish Governments in both domestic and international settings.

As chair, Liz Ditchburn will now head up the NSTA Board and oversee the organisation's role in licensing and regulating the UK's oil, gas, offshore hydrogen and carbon storage industries. The NSTA also continues to play a key role in ensuring the UK maximises the highly skilled expertise of its North Sea industries and workers to deliver the country's clean energy transition.

Since coming to office three months ago, the government has already taken rapid steps in accelerating the UK's clean energy industries – with the launch of Great British Energy, the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and confirming up to £21.7 billion in funding over the next 25 years for carbon capture and storage and hydrogen projects.

Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, said:

I would like to thank Tim Eggar for his commitment as chair of the NSTA in such a crucial time for the industry.

Liz will now continue this legacy, bringing a wealth of experience across government to an important role at the centre of our energy transition.

Together with the NSTA, we will build on the expertise of our North Sea industries to deliver an orderly and prosperous transition.

Chair of the North Sea Transition Authority, Liz Ditchburn said:

Our North Sea industries have a huge potential to lead the way in the UK's clean energy transition – from new offshore wind developments to the latest in carbon capture and storage.

I'm looking forward to driving this work at the NSTA to ensure the sector can maximise this opportunity, bringing growth, and investment to Scotland's North Sea communities and securing the long-term future of highly skilled jobs.

Ms Ditchburn will take up the post on 22 October 2024, following on from her predecessor Tim Eggar's term of over 5 years as NSTA chair coming to an end.