60+ climate groups demand incoming UK Government fund just transition for North Sea workers
Over 60 leading climate organisations including Greenpeace UK, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Oxfam UK and Extinction Rebellion have signed an open letter 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:
- A UK-wide industrial strategy, including substantial investment in domestic manufacturing and skills, expansion of publicly owned energy, and reorganising the tax system for public good.
- Expanding sectoral collective bargaining across the energy industry and supply chain.
- A Jobs Guarantee, that ensures every oil and gas worker can find equivalent, alternative employment or funded retraining
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.
Rosie Hampton, Just Transition Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:
“People who work in the oil and gas industry, and the communities that are currently reliant on it, cannot afford to wait any longer for action to support them through the energy transition. We’ve seen a rapid decline in the number of jobs in the industry over the last decade, and the failure to properly plan has left workers adrift. Decent green jobs can be created in renewables, but only if our politicians adequately support and invest in them.
“We need to see politicians go beyond the empty promises and commit to the meaningful investment and planning needed to make sure our energy transition is truly fair. The incoming government has to act decisively to develop robust measures that meaningfully put workers and communities at the heart of planning our energy transition.
“Workers in high-carbon industries have the skills and experience to lead the transition away from fossil fuels. We need to see a concrete industrial strategy, greater collective bargaining across the sector, and guaranteed employment at an equivalent level for all oil and gas workers to make sure that the transition happens in a fair way for people working in the industry and for our communities to flourish.”
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.
Notes to editor:
[1] The open letter, available in full below, is coordinated by Uplift, Friends of the Earth Scotland, and Platform.
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:
- A UK-wide industrial strategy, which prioritises substantial investment in domestic manufacturing and skills, reorganises the tax system for public good, and expands publicly-owned renewable energy production. Only by expanding democratic control at all levels of our energy system and building community wealth, will we be able to create secure green jobs for fossil fuel workers, end fuel poverty, and ensure the benefits of the transition are retained by communities.
- Worker involvement in every stage of just transition planning, by expanding sectoral collective bargaining across the energy industry and supply chain. This will enable workers and unions to negotiate just transition plans which meet climate targets and provide training and employment opportunities.
- A Jobs Guarantee, providing financial support for every offshore and onshore oil and gas worker who is not supported by the above measures to find equivalent, alternative employment or has to take time out of employment to undertake training. This ‘guarantee’ must include a wage and conditions floor, negotiated with recognised trade unions to ensure workers are not forced into low paid or unsafe jobs in the emerging renewables industry.
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