60+ climate groups call on incoming government to fund just transition for North Sea workers
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Over 60 leading climate organisations including Greenpeace UK,
Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Oxfam UK
and Extinction Rebellion have signed an open letter [1] calling for
a ‘clear and funded' transition plan for workers and communities
reliant on the oil and gas industry. The letter, which was
sent to all party leaders today, is based on
a report created in consultation with workers in the
offshore oil and gas industry and backed...Request free trial
Over 60 leading climate organisations including Greenpeace UK, Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Oxfam UK and Extinction Rebellion have signed an open letter [1] calling for a ‘clear and funded' transition plan for workers and communities reliant on the oil and gas industry. The letter, which was sent to all party leaders today, is based on a report created in consultation with workers in the offshore oil and gas industry and backed by leading trade unions including Unite the Union Scotland, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), and Unison Scotland. Signatories are calling for:
The letter also calls for a phase out of oil and gas in the North Sea as a ‘crucial step' to meet the UK's ‘legally binding climate commitments, address the UK's historic role as a disproportionate producer of emissions, and prevent further devastating loss and damage' which disproportionately affects the world's poorest. Mel Evans, Greenpeace UK climate team leader, said: “There is no such thing as climate justice without worker justice. The transition to end our dependence on fossil fuels and get us onto clean energy must bring communities and workers along with it, and that means providing adequate support on skills and retraining. “We urgently need the next government to bring forward a bold green industrial strategy and transition plan to support workers into low carbon jobs. This would deliver true climate justice and bring huge benefits for the economy, business, and the cost of living too.” Mick Lynch, General Secretary of RMT Union, said: "We firmly believe that a Just Transition in the offshore energy sector is not just a necessity but a moral imperative to secure all our futures. As we move towards greener energy, it is crucial that the valuable skills and expertise of our members working in the oil and gas sector supply chain are not lost. As part of any Just Transition, new training opportunities need to be provided so workers are not paying the price for building an environmentally sustainable future.
“We will be working with pro-worker environmental groups and governments to guarantee fair treatment, job security, and new opportunities for oil and gas workers, so they can continue contributing to this vital sector." A spokesperson for Unite the Union said: "Unite welcomes support from the climate movement. We are fully behind a transition to greener energy, but this must be a fair transition, one that has workers and communities at its heart. We will continue to take any action necessary to protect our members' jobs, pay and conditions. And we will continue to work with climate groups who are calling for ambitious government action on a just transition." TUC analysis shows that action to meet the UK's climate commitments has the potential to create over a million good new jobs, while Robert Gordon University says over 90% of the UK's oil and gas workforce have skills that are transferable to clean energy production. The letter warns that “the longer we wait to implement a worker-led just transition in the North Sea - and other high carbon industries - the worse off communities that rely on these industries will be” and points to job losses already forecast at the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland and Port Talbot Steelworks in Wales. The number of jobs supported by the oil and gas industry has halved in the past decade, with some 227,000 jobs lost since 2013, despite the UK government issuing roughly 400 new drilling licences over the same period and energy companies recording record breaking profits. Analyses by the industry regulator, the Climate Change Committee, and others, project further job losses with business as usual. Last week, a landmark ruling by the UK Supreme Court recognised for the first time that authorities must consider emissions released when oil produced is burned when approving new oil and gas projects. The ruling has major implications for the future of the UK's oil and gas industry. - ENDS - Notes to editor: [1] The open letter, available in full below, is coordinated by Uplift, Friends of the Earth Scotland, and Platform. For press enquiries contact: Joe Evans, Press & Comms Officer at Greenpeace UK joe.evans@greenpeace.org / +44 7890 595387 Full text: OPEN LETTER TO ALL POLITICAL PARTY LEADERS FROM CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANISATIONS As climate and environmental organisations, we are calling on the incoming government to commit to a phase out of oil and gas in the North Sea. This is a crucial step if we are to meet our legally binding climate commitments, address the UK's historic role as a disproportionate producer of emissions, and prevent further devastating loss and damage, which communities least responsible for the climate crisis across the world are suffering the worst consequences of. All steps to accelerate the transition away from oil and gas must be accompanied by a clear and funded transition plan for the workers and communities that currently rely on the industry. Oil and gas workers have laid out policy demands for an energy transition in the Our Power report, which has the support of Unite the Union Scotland, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), and Unison Scotland. As the climate movement, alongside phasing-out oil and gas in line with liveable climate limits, we are calling on the incoming government to commit to:
The North Sea's shift away from oil and gas production is already underway, as the basin's reserves decline. Over the past decade, the number of jobs supported by the oil and gas industry in the UK has halved, with some 227,000 jobs lost since 2013. This is despite the UK government issuing roughly 400 new drilling licences over the same period and energy companies recording record breaking profits. Instead of responding by ending profiteering by the energy industry and delivering a worker-led just transition, the UK government has continued to unconditionally hand out generous tax breaks to the fossil fuel industry. Meanwhile, industry bosses have been left to determine the terms of the decline, prioritising shareholder profits over affordable energy, green investment or job creation. The longer we wait to implement a worker-led just transition in the North Sea - and other high carbon industries - the worse off communities that rely on these industries will be. We are already seeing this at Grangemouth Oil Refinery, where Petroineos have decided to close the refinery without agreeing a binding transition plan with trade unions that protects the workforce or community. The same is happening at Port Talbot Steelworks, where workers are being forced to take industrial action to protect their jobs. The climate movement stands in solidarity with these workers and unions. The party that forms a government after the July 4th election must end the decade of empty promises and urgently implement a credible transition plan for the North Sea and its dedicated workforce, who are vital to the delivery of the transition to clean energy. A plan that transforms our broken energy system; invests in workers and communities; and protects our planet is within reach and must be delivered before the end of the next Parliament. Full list of signatories: Oxfam GB Greenpeace UK Friends of the Earth England, Wales & Northern Ireland Extinction Rebellion UK 350.org Green New Deal Rising Friends of the Earth Scotland Platform Uplift Global Witness Campaign against Climate Change Global Justice Now Oil Change International Stop Climate Chaos Scotland Oceana UK Tipping Point UK Climate Justice Coalition Common Wealth #StopRosebank Tax Justice UK Faith for the Climate Parents for Future UK Parents For Future Scotland Medact Protect Our Winters UK This Is Rigged Coal Action Network New Economics Foundation Climate Emergency UK The Working Class Climate Alliance Greener Jobs Alliance Transnational Institute Zero Hour Mothers Rise Up Possible Hackney XR Elders and Grandparents XR grandparents and Elders Extinction Rebellion Brighton Extinction Rebellion Stroud Fossil Free Parliament Fossil Free Shropshire Derbyshire Pensioners Action Group Stop Rosebank North West Stop Rosebank North East GNDR Newcastle CGIAR Climate Impact Platform Save Rimrose Valley Park Edinburgh Climate Coalition Fossil Free West Yorkshire North Herts and Stevenage Friends of the Earth New Forest Friends of the Earth Global Justice Bradford Dales Climate Hub Derbyshire Climate Coalition Dorset Equality Group Scottish Cuba Solidarity Campaign North East Climate Justice Coalition Climate Action Leicester and Leicestershire Divest Tyne and Wear Divest Lothian Ecosocialist.scot NESCAN Hub Aberdeen Climate Action Feminist Exchange Network Time for Change Argyll & Bute |