It’s time for a Just Transition, moving to a modern zero-carbon economy in ways which protect workers’ livelihoods, create a new industrial base and deliver a fairer Scotland. Action is urgently needed to avert the climate crisis and to re-balance the economy to one which provides enough decent jobs making things in clean ways.
Plans for this transition so far have not been ambitious enough and progress has been slow. There has been little planning to ensure the protection of the people most affected, in particular those who work in sectors reliant on fossil fuels. Workers should be able to redeploy to new sectors and opportunities for retraining must be expanded.
Action to stop greenhouse gas emissions can create good jobs and improve everyone’s lives. But, done wrongly, it could instead entrench trends towards precarious work and economic inequality, while risking a backlash against climate action. Justice has to be built in – a just transition is essential.
Workers’ Perspectives on Energy Transitions in Britain
The Just Transition Partnership has worked with Dr Ewan Gibbs of the University of Glasgow to publish a new report looking at workers’ perspective on energy transitions in Britain.
Working together for a Just Transition
The Just Transition Partnership advocates for action to meet climate change targets in ways which protect workers livelihoods and make Scotland more equal and inclusive. It was set up by Friends of the Earth Scotland and the Scottish Trade Union Congress in 2016.