Hi John,
This morning, I joined other climate campaigners as we stood alongside workers in Westminster and demanded that the government funds a just transition to renewable energy for oil and gas workers.
Demands for a workers’ transition could not be more urgent. Big oil is making billions from driving the climate crisis. We need a fossil fuel phase-out, but it must include justice for a whole host of communities, including oil and gas workers who have helped keep the lights on around the world for decades.
This week, Global Justice Now revealed that the government is spending an estimated £17.5 billion per year subsidising fossil fuels.(1) Those profiting from this taxpayer funding must pay for a globally just transition – for workers and the global south.
Right now, the Chancellor is undertaking a major review of government spending over the next few years. We only have a couple of weeks to tell her she must include spending for a workers’ transition – funded by targeting the fossil fuel industry – in her plans. Can you write to Chancellor today?
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Fighting fossil-fuelled fake news
The fossil fuel lobby, the far right and other climate villains are trying to hold back vital climate action by presenting a false choice between a better life for workers and communities in the UK and climate justice for communities in the global south.
These people have big megaphones to shout their lies and misinformation through. As climate justice campaigners, we have to fight back and do everything we can to spread the message that they could not be more wrong.
The fossil fuel economy is responsible for climate disasters, environmental destruction and a cost-of-living crisis that is showing no signs of letting up. A globally just fossil fuel phase-out will create a more equal world from the global south to Grangemouth.(2)
But justice is key. This includes justice for oil and gas workers, who have been propping up the UK’s energy system for decades must be supported as it transitions.
Making them pay for a globally just transition
The money exists to pay for a just transition – for workers in the UK and communities in the global south. Our research this week estimated that direct financial support to the fossil fuel industry – in the form of policies like tax breaks – is at its highest level since 2016.
Last year, Shell and BP alone made £26.2 billion combined in profits. That’s enough to pay for the welfare and aid cuts the government made this year. It’s more than double the UK’s current commitment to climate finance for climate-vulnerable communities in the global south.
Big oil’s CEOs and shareholders have been making billions off the backs of energy workers and climate-vulnerable communities for years. Now they must pay for a range of climate action, including helping workers to transition their skills to jobs in renewable energy.
The government must commit to an urgent funding package for a workers’ transition. It can pay for this by cancelling the tax breaks it provides to the fossil fuel industry and taxing big oil's mammoth profits.(3)
No more time for delay
The government has ambitious targets to clean up the UK’s energy system, but it is currently risking leaving workers behind. Not only does this risk a grave injustice, it also undermines the fight against climate change by leaving it open to accusations of injustice.
We need to send a clear message to Chancellor Rachel Reeves: There is no more time for half-baked plans and giving in to fossil fuel lobbyists. She must commit to a funding package and strategy that creates permanent, unionised renewable energy jobs, and supports the country’s oil and gas workers to transition into them.
Together, we can ensure that the transition is not delayed any further by the oil and gas industry, and that we build a just energy future that prioritises people over profit. No one gets left behind.
That’s why I joined workers at Parliament today to demand Rachel Reeves funds a workers’ transition. With a major government spending review coming up, we have a real chance to secure funding for a just transition for workers and push forward the fight to end fossil fuels.
You can join me in standing with workers by writing to the Chancellor now:
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We take on issues that others are afraid to touch and we don’t make compromises.
By joining us, you can fight for regulations that put people before profit, and build public pressure against corporate greed.
Become a member and join others standing up to injustice.
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