The government should provide £1.9bn annually to support offshore oil and gas workers in transitioning to the renewable energy sector, say climate groups.

Sixty-five climate organisations, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Extinction Rebellion, signed an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves urging her to ring-fence the funding until 2030 as part of the government’s clean energy transition plans.

The suggested spending includes £1.1bn a year to develop permanent, local jobs in manufacturing plants for wind turbines, an additional £440m on top of the £1.8bn already committed through the National Wealth Fund to help decarbonise British ports, and £355m to develop a dedicated training fund for offshore oil and gas workers.

The letter arrives three weeks before the next Budget, which will be Labour’s first in 14 years and is expected to provide a signal about its upcoming spending intentions.

“For too long successive governments have relied on the market and industry bosses to...