Jobs in a Low Carbon Europe

By John Monks

Climate change is first and foremost a social question.

In saying that, I do not want to downplay the risks to the environment, and the recent scientific conference staged in Paris has confirmed the scale of those risks. Neither is it a matter of putting the economic issues into relative terms, as these were clearly pinpointed by Nicolas Stern's report. But it is important not to pigeonhole climate change into a scientific or technological issue, nor into a simple economic choice.

If we are going to succeed in fighting climate change, we have no choice but to take account of the social consequences, both positive and negative, of the changes required. We cannot say that climate change is a reality (with a rise in temperatures of close to 0.8° for the 20th century, and between 1.8 and 4° for the 21st) and not be concerned at the way its consequences will be handled. If we do nothing, we know who will have to pay the price: the poorest and the most vulnerable, in both the developed world and the developing countries alike.

It is clear that the processes involved in reducing emissions will lead to changes in the organisation of labour, jobs and income. These changes must be innovative and positive to transform the carbon constraint into a positive opportunity for the development of European industry and the maintenance of its jobs. In that respect, we cannot ignore the formidable problems associated with globalised heavy industries involved in the European carbon market, in the absence of carbon equivalent constraints in the major producing countries.

So we need to move from a defensive version of restructuring operations (traditional industries facing competition from newcomers) towards an offensive vision (preparing for the future). The watchwords are: anticipation, adaptation, investment and the organisation of solidarities. This brings us back to the fundamental mission of the trade union movement: to organise solidarity, in favour of the poorest and the most vulnerable."

(Speech to Conference on 'Jobs in a low carbon Europe' 20-21 February 2007)