Over 60 leading climate organisations 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 signatories include Greenpeace UK, Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Oxfam UK and Extinction Rebellion
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.
It is 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 and Unison Scotland.
They are calling for a Jobs Guarantee that ensures every oil and gas worker can find equivalent, alternative employment or funded retraining.
In addition, the signatories want to expanding sectoral collective bargaining across the energy industry and supply chain.
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.
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 country’s historic role as a disproportionate producer of emissions, and prevent further devastating loss and damage’ which disproportionately affects the world’s poorest.
Greenpeace UK climate team leader Mel Evans 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.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch added: “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.”
TUC analysis shows 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.