The predictable but still dismal departure of BP is another emergency flare fired above the North Sea but the sky is now full of them. The company’s planned exit, announced on Friday, is the latest in a litany of sell-offs, mergers, closures, and redundancies as UK offshore industries contract and industrial calamity unfolds along every supply chain. It is one of the last major producers left and is already closing half its 24 fields. Mining communities stricken by sudden, savage pit closures four decades ago only transitioned into despair and dereliction and there is little sign of lessons learned. A stable, strategic pathway to Net Zero is a clear opportunity to both curb emissions and begin building again.