The liberal government has unveiled a “just transition” plan that it claims will not cause mass unemployment in the country’s energy towns.
Released on February 17, “Sustainable employment planAs the federal government seeks to transition the country to a “net-zero world,” it aims to create “sustainable jobs” in all parts of Canada.
“Between now and a net-zero world in 2050, demand for oil and gas in conventional combustion applications will decline, albeit continuously,” the report said.
It says the difference after 2050 will be in how oil is used.
“Petroleum is no longer primarily used for combustion applications such as cars and buses,” the report said. “After 2050, our use will be primarily non-combustible applications such as petrochemicals, asphalt, lubricants, solvents, carbon graphite and waxes.”
mid-term plan lacks many detailsbut broadly outlines how minority governments can help maintain and create energy jobs, and move workers to net-zero jobs when needed.
That includes the creation of a “central” governing body to oversee the Liberal Party’s “just transition” plan for 2023-2025.
“Establishing a Sustainable Employment Secretariat will provide leadership and enable a whole-of-government approach to sustainable employment measures,” the plan said.
“It will also ensure the coordination of federal policies and programs among government departments and the implementation of future sustainable work action plans.”
According to the plan, it will also include training programs and indigenous consultations. The federal government has said it will introduce legislation in the second half of 2023 to establish a “framework of accountability, engagement and transparency” for the transition.
Skepticism
The Action Plan, which will be updated every five years from 2025, does not provide projections on how many jobs will be created in a net-zero economy, but labor shortages are more of a concern than unemployment. I emphasized that
“Numerous studies suggest that rather than a job shortage in Canada, it is far more likely that there is an abundance of sustainable jobs and a shortage of the workers needed to fill them.” said the report.
and news release On February 17, the Federal Office of Natural Resources cited an estimate by the Royal Bank of Canada that “the transition to net zero could create up to 400,000 new jobs in Canada in this decade alone.”
The interim plan will be developed after two years of consultations with states and territories, industry, indigenous peoples, workers and unions, and other stakeholders, according to the release.
The plan noted that support for a “just transition” varies by region.
“Workers in Alberta and Saskatchewan are expressing concern over sustainable employment laws as they fear their jobs will be most at risk in the global transition to a net-zero economy. So support for the law varies by region,” he said.
“These workers see mere transition as a movement to phase out fossil fuel jobs.”
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has said for months that he prefers the term ‘sustainable jobs’ because it is more accurate.
The report said that as long as Canada strives to “aggressively reduce emissions from fossil fuel production, in line with Canada’s climate commitments,” oil will remain a “sustainable source of employment.” and said it could still have a gas sector.
Alberta Prime Minister Daniel Smith remains skeptical of the Liberal Party’s claims.
The day before the plans were announced, Smith I have written He urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop introducing his “just transition” law and oil and gas emissions caps.
“As it is now understood, each of these initiatives would pose an unconstitutional and existential threat to Alberta’s economy and the jobs of hundreds of thousands of Albertans,” she wrote.
‘serious concern’
After the plans were announced on February 17, Smith replied: statement She was “disturbed” by it and said she would contact the Liberal government “in the coming weeks” to discuss the issues identified therein.
“The plan recognizes that Canada’s oil and gas sector is committed to reducing emissions through investments in emerging clean technologies and will become an important source of energy for the world for decades to come.” However, our government will actively increase LNG exports and replace high-emission fuels around the world with Canadian LNG, while at the same time reducing emissions to drive economic growth in Alberta and Canada. acquire rights (based on international agreements).”
“Omitting the LNG strategy in this plan makes no sense.”
The Smith government added that it had “serious concerns” about the lack of recognition of the liberal plan that states have constitutional rights to their own natural resources and labor force.
“Implementing a federal program of this magnitude in a state captive jurisdiction requires not just a piecemeal ‘talk’ with the state, but full state approval and cooperation,” she said. I got
“Alberta was not involved in any such approval, nor was it included in the development of the plan announced today. , we cannot continue this kind of dysfunctional communication between the federal government and our states.”
Canadian Press contributed to this report.