Labour confirmed yesterday it would block all new North Sea oil and gas developments if it wins the next general election.
It is proposing instead to invest heavily in renewable sources such as wind and also in nuclear power.
Labour's plans immediately came under attack - being described by one north-east business leader as "pie in the sky".
Ryan Crighton, policy director at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC), also warned that the price of getting the energy transition wrong was 17,000 jobs in the North-east alone.
The shadow work and pensions secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said Labour would soon reveal how it wants to invest in the green jobs of the future, to bring bills down, to create a more sustainable energy supply.
He added: "We'll be outlining that in a significant mission in the coming weeks, and we'll be announcing more details then.
Renewable energy
"We know we've got to move to more renewable sources of energy. It's important for our climate-change commitments, but it's also the way in which we can bring energy bills down for consumers.
"This isn't about shutting down what's going on now. We will manage those sustainably."
The proposals, which the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is expected to set out formally on a visit to Scotland next month, will involve not just a ban on new North Sea oil and gas licences, but a pledge that any borrowing for investment should be limited to green schemes.
A party source told the Guardian: "We are against the granting of new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea.
"But Labour would continue to use existing oil and gas wells over the coming decades and manage them sustainably as we transform the UK into a clean energy superpower."
Asked if this would leave the country overreliant on wind power, Mr Ashworth said: "It's a mischaracterisation to say our policies all depend on wind. Yes, we need to invest in wind. We need to invest in tidal; we need to invest in nuclear.
Big ambition
The chamber of commerce's Mr Crighton said: ""Big ambition on renewable energy is exactly what we need.
"However, once again, we have politicians threatening to undermine the energy transition with a position on oil and gas that is not grounded in the reality of how net zero will be delivered.
"This is pie in the sky stuff drawn up with zero engagement with the industry, or the region, which has been powering the UK for 50 years.
"Sir Keir Starmer has promised to come to Aberdeen - he needs to make good on that promise in the coming weeks before this hugely-damaging policy position further erodes investment in our energy sector.
"If the alternative is importing oil and gas from other countries at a greater carbon cost, then the UK should always favour domestic production. This is a position which has been consistently backed by the public in numerous polls."
Paul de Leeuw, an expert in the transition from oil to renewables at Robert Gordon University, described Starmer’s stance as “at the naive end of the spectrum” and said it would “undermine investor confidence”. He said: “Think about the message this sends out to the investment community. If Labour comes to power why would you invest in a North Sea, when you can put your money somewhere else?”
De Leeuw added: “The focus should be on reducing demand for hydrocarbons, not supply.”
Idealogical vendetta
Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said Labour's plans amounted to an "ideological vendetta against British energy independence" that would risk jobs and help Russia in using energy supplies as a weapon.
Labour's proposals could put a question mark against development of the significant Rosebank oil field west of Shetland.
Fergus Mutch, a former SNP communications chief and parliamentary candidate who helps runs the True North think tank, said the Labour messaging was “deeply unserious”.
He added: “This sort of approach puts investment at risk, puts jobs at risk, and puts the resources needed for the energy transition at risk too. We are going to have companies say they cannot continue in the North Sea and that means they cannot continue to develop wind farms either.”
Mr Mutch said Labour’s energy policy could trip them up north of the border. “Labour are risking to pull the rug from under an industry that’s a major employer in Scotland,” he said. “They are positioning themselves as a threat to jobs. I think I think there will be a constituency to whom this plays quite well. But it is not in Scotland.”
Liam Kerr, the Scottish Conservatives energy spokesman who is based in Aberdeen, said: “It’s clear he is willing to throw tens of thousands of jobs under the bus in favour of superficial soundbites that take no account of UK energy security, the impact on consumers in a cost of living crisis and would lead to greater reliance on imported energy with far worse emissions and environmental impacts than domestically sourced.