The Just Transition Commission claims that Scotland is not on track to deliver, and that “significant” further action is needed to support the workforce.
In its second annual report, the Just Transition Commission says that the country’s ability to deliver a just transition hinges on a “genuine whole-of-government approach to delivery.”
The report outlines: “Use of just transition as a ‘fix-all’ term without specific policies and actions to actually realise it must be avoided from now on.”
The commission states that “transformative leadership is now required” with Scottish ministers being urged to ensure “each of our local authorities” are seeing the delivery of a just transition while ensuring “aspiration is translated into policy impact across government.”
Offshore union RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch said: “The Just Transition Commissioners in Scotland are absolutely right – there can be no more ‘business as usual’ on just transition issues anymore.
“We urgently need to head off potential job losses in offshore oil and gas through a combination of pro-public procurement, resilient public transport networks and a digital training passport that works for our members and not one sector of industry.
“RMT stand ready to work with the Commission and the Scottish Government to deliver the specific plans and policies that our members in Scotland’s rail, maritime and offshore sectors need to safeguard their futures.”
Grangemouth and offshore sector to serve as ‘litmus test’
The Commission draws attention to the recent news that Grangemouth, Scotland’s last remaining oil refining capacity, could close as soon as 2025.
The news was criticised by Unite the Union executive council member Cliff Bowen who recently told Energy Voice: “Don’t give me promises of green jobs if you can’t tell me what qualifications I need, where will the jobs be based, when can I apply for them and how much the pay is.”
Calling for meaningful support for workers facing job losses at Grangemouth and offshore as the country moves away from fossil fuels, the Just Transition Commission says: “Those affected require meaningful and pragmatic support, so that workers can move into low carbon and other industries through an orderly transition that minimizes negative impacts on workers and communities, ensures skills are retained where they are most needed for the new economy and seeks to secure positive gains for workers.”
© Supplied by INEOSThe group described the coming redundancies at Grangemouth and offshore as “an early litmus test” for the credibility of just transition as a national mission.
When the news of Grangemouth’s closure broke last month, the Commission warned it was “deeply concerned” the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery in 2025 “risks a repeat of previous unmanaged industrial transitions in coal and steel”
The group has set out plans to visit the oil refinery next year, following this it will publish findings and recommendations on next steps to support a just transition for the site.
Co-chair of the Just Transition Commission Satwat Rehman said: “The next big steps in tackling the climate emergency will change many aspects of our everyday lives, whether that’s about how we work, how we get around, the food we eat, how we heat our homes.
“This is a huge opportunity for policymakers to address inequalities, but there is a real risk these will instead continue to widen.
“Fairness isn’t a reason to water down or delay climate action. It must be a driver to go further and faster, backed by the practical actions we know will deliver a just transition.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland just transition campaigner Rosie Hampton commented: “The current Scottish Government approach of leaving it up to the market to deliver a just transition simply will not work, as starkly illustrated by the Grangemouth closure threat from Petroineos.
“Workers have the skills and experience needed to build a new energy system but the Government is failing to put them at the heart of the process. Instead we’re seeing the interests of private companies dominate the planning and delivery of the energy transition.”
The Friends fo the Earth campaigner argued that Scotland needs to see “ransformative change” that will get the country “off fossil fuels and we need to see it quickly.”
Ms Hampton said that renewable energy sources should be under public ownership “to ensure that the benefits of the transition are kept in communities.””
She added: “This report confirms that the Scottish Government needs to strategically and substantially invest in the transition, or they risk selling workers and communities short.
“There should be a whole of Government approach that delivers the necessary systemic changes and an end to the silos that are impeding and disrupting action.”
The cost of failure is ‘sky high’
The commission outlines that, given the scale of the opportunity for Scotland in the energy transition, the price for failure is “sky high”.
The group conceded that the price tag attached to achieving a just transition “may look daunting in the current fiscal context”, however, the government should weigh up the cost of failure when allocating funds.
The commission says that Scotland has the potential to see “loss of jobs, loss of supply chain and manufacturing opportunities with potential for many decades of growth.”
The report warns that any perceived short-term savings the government thinks it is making by not investing will lead to the country missing out on potential income down the line.
“A core element of any just transition approach is to invest strategically now in order to make savings later,” the document outlines.
It is worth noting that Scotland’s manufacturing capabilities for the energy transition, particularly in offshore wind, are already routinely criticised with some pointing to the fact the country has to import many of its turbines.
© Supplied by KATH FLANNERY / DC TThe group also pushed for changes to public procurement rules, and clarity on “how significant new revenue streams associated with renewables expansion will benefit the public.”
“Public procurement is key to unlocking a just transition,” says the report.
Adding: “While significant additional investment is required, there are major potential gains if the routine deployment of public money can successfully be aligned with just transition principles.
“Across multiple sectors, this cannot yet be said to be the case, and significant action is required to ensure the potential of public procurement in catalysing change at scale is maximised; embedding social value and gearing public investment towards the achievement of high quality, secure employment, fair work, local supply chains, equitable ownership and meaningful community engagement and participation.”
The Just Transition Commission says that continuing with a “cheapest wins” approach to procurement for these projects will “prove profoundly costly in the mid-long term.”
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