We are at a critical juncture for the Humber’s economic, social and industrial future, with 2026 being a key year for our regional energy industry.

We are at the heart of the UK’s energy security. Around 20% of the country’s power is generated in the Humber, we are home to around a third of the UK’s total offshore wind capacity and 20% of the gas which heats the country’s homes and keeps its power stations operational is imported through this region. We are also proud that the UK’s largest port complex is a key part of our local infrastructure and, that despite recent closures, around a third of all the UK’s refined products are produced here.

We help drive the country’s economy, but, sadly, the critical role the Humber plays has often been taken for granted.

That is why there is a growing sense of frustration that other regions have benefitted from political and policy decisions in recent years while we have been overlooked.

Our region has been left adrift to deliver on the competing opportunities we see ahead of us and want to make the most of. We want to grow, protect our existing industry, secure new investment, generate secure and renewable power and decarbonise.

Damningly, three years ago, despite our ample industrial base and availability of geological storage, the Humber was not selected for one of the first carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, despite having two excellent infrastructure options to connect them. This selection could have transformed the Humber’s confidence, strengthened the regional economy, reduced carbon emissions, secured skilled industrial jobs, and supported our businesses for generations to come.

In the absence of CCS or other major industrial support, and ongoing delays to anticipated policy announcements, the region is showing all the signs of a creeping decline and risks a worrying trajectory towards deindustrialisation and associated job losses. Sadly, this is particularly in chemicals and petrochemicals, the heavy manufacturing and foundational sectors that the latest Industrial Strategy was designed to protect and support.

This process is not inevitable. With the right decisions in Westminster, there is enough time to turn the tide and ensure that 2026 is the year we secured the region’s future.

This means progressing CCS in the region by selecting the anchor emitters for Viking CCS and Northern Endurance Partnership, our two CCS pipeline infrastructure providers. It also means recognising the potential of the region’s hydrogen industry – underpinned by the concentration of hydrogen producers, storage sites and customers – by selecting the Humber for the UK’s first hydrogen transport and storage network.

Combined with investment in offshore wind, ports, and other related areas, this could unlock up to £44bn in private sector investment, creating tens of thousands of new opportunities, helping people transition into new jobs in future sectors, and, critically, deliver a clear pathway for young people to stay, build careers, plant roots and thrive in the Humber.

This investment will not wait indefinitely and in a globalised world ripe with investment opportunities for multi-national businesses it could flow elsewhere without action.

The Humber Energy Board, which I chair, provides a clear voice for the industries across the region, unifying both banks of the Humber, to set out our priorities to government, investors, and the international community.

We now urge the government to join with us, our Combined Authorities, educational institutions and skills providers, and the community, to support these plans to re-energise the Humber, to progress these stalled projects, invest in new infrastructure, and create long-lasting opportunities.

2026 has to be the year we re-energise the Humber, or the pathway to decline for this remarkable region will only accelerate.