The city caught in the middle of the big energy shift debate

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. The city caught in the middle of the big energy shift debate 5 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google James Cook Scotland editor When Iona Macdonald graduated from Aberdeen University in 2000 with a degree in chemistry, there was only one show in town. Iona recalls that she "inevitably slid into the oil and gas industry" where, like thousands of others, she built a successful and lucrative career. Back then, the sector was swimming in money, she remembers.

"You would see a lot of Ferraris and Lamborghinis," says Macdonald of Aberdeen at the time. But after a quarter of a century, that journey - working both on and offshore as a production chemist and later a training manager - came to an abrupt halt when she was made redundant two years ago. Having tried and failed to secure employment in the renewable energy sector, the 48-year-old is now working on the minimum wage in a Glasgow pub.

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Iona enjoys the job and finds being part of the community worthwhile - but she's conscious she's not using any of her skills and experience. And she says she isn't alone: "I have friends who've gone from six-figure salaries to stacking shelves in a supermarket overnight. " Iona adds: "It's been quite the struggle to transition out of what's a very heavily specialised technical industry.

" Iona Macdonald graduated from Aberdeen University in 2000 with a degree in chemistry The transition from oil and gas jobs into renewables jobs has been on the lips of many politicians in recent years - including during the current Holyrood election campaign. Specifically, the talk has been of a "just transition" at the heart of the energy policy - the idea of a smooth and equitable shift of labour from dirty old oil to a bright green future. UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband presents this as both a moral and practical duty, repeating warnings from climate scientists that burning every last drop of oil will accelerate catastrophic global warming.

"Our position is rooted in a plan for a just transition and a fair-minded analysis of what the science demands", he insisted in a speech on 21 April. But Iona says she has not experienced a just transition. Nor, she says, have thousands of other workers in the industry.

What Experts Say

So what has gone wrong for her and others? Are Scotland and the UK fumbling the shift away from oil and gas jobs? And, if so, what does that mean for places like Aberdeen, the wider economy and even the future of the UK itself?

Silver darlings and black gold Aberdeen has always looked to the sea, from medieval trade with Scandinavia to landing and processing millions of barrels of herring during the 19th and 20th Centuries. The "silver darlings", as they were known, brought wealth but it was the discovery of black gold in 1969 which transformed the city and the nation. "The nightlife was very vibrant," recalls Iona of her time in the industry there three decades on.

"There was a lot of drinking and eating and partying.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.