Read this article in:
5 November, 2007
An ICEM affiliate in New Zealand, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), has rebuked a report from the New Zealand Institute, which suggests the country ought to follow rather than lead the climate control debate to avoid having businesses leave due to “carbon flight.”
EPMU challenged that assertion, and said the country can not afford to follow on climate change, saying that a policy response “must ensure a just transition for workers in emission-intensive industries.”
EPMU said the report brings forth the debate on just transition.
“We don’t want to see good, highly skilled jobs going offshore with no thought about how that skilled labour may be redeployed,” said the EPMU in a statement. “A just transition means encouraging investment in new technologies that demand new skills and therefore investment in training for the future.
“However, this should not be used as an excuse to drag our heels on climate change as the New Zealand Institute and other business lobby groups appear to be suggesting. The long term economic consequences of doing nothing are far more costly than emission-reduction actions now.” The EPMU represents 50,000 New Zealanders, including workers in coal mining, manufacturing, electricity generation, and oil extraction.