It is crucial that our governments understand and consider the impacts on workers and communities when acting to address climate change.”
By 2030, Canada may only have half as many oil and gas jobs as it does today, leaving workers and communities with an uncertain future, reveals a new report co-authored by Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) Canada and Blue Green Canada. Automation, attrition, and the rapid decarbonization that a safe planet demands all play a role in the changing job landscape.
The good news is that nearly 3 in 4 oil and gas workers affected by the transition have a direct skills match to alternative clean industries or IT occupations elsewhere – if provincial and federal governments make the urgently required investments and commit to supportive policies now to create new, high quality jobs an economy aligned with keeping global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
The report, entitled Facing Fossil Fuels’ Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Workers in Canada’s Energy and Labour Transitions, was released this morning at a press conference featuring Shannon Franssen and Teika Newton of CAN-Rac Canada, Jamie Kirkpatrick of Blue Green Canada, Meg Gingrich of United Steelworkers, and Ken Bondy of Unifor.
