Paul Murphy: Calls for Just Transition to Net Zero by 2030
Paul Murphy urged a rapid just transition to a net zero carbon economy by 2030, calling for an immediate move away from fossil fuels and insisting workers must not lose income, jobs or terms and conditions. He advocated increased wind and solar production, major community involvement and a role for skilled workers in a national climate service.
Main demand
He demanded a rapid, just transition to a net zero carbon economy by 2030 and said the use of finite fossil fuels must stop immediately to protect the living planet.
Worker protections
He insisted that a just transition means no worker loses out — no loss of income, no loss of jobs and no loss of existing terms and conditions — and that workers should be treated fairly for the change required.
Green New Deal and national climate service
He framed the response as a Green New Deal with socialist policies that would create quality, decent jobs. He said skilled workers could play a key role in a national climate service and in transitioning the economy.
Renewables and bog lands potential
He highlighted bog lands as having great potential for wind and solar power and called for a government proposal to increase wind and solar production with major community involvement and other investments.
Critique of past governments and public buy-in
He criticised successive governments since the early 2000s for anticipating this situation and cited a quote referenced by Deputy Smith from Naomi Klein to argue that a just transition is necessary to secure public buy-in for urgent climate change measures.
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I want to welcome the workers as well. I think this is an incredibly simple issue. We need a rapid just transition to a net zero carbon economy. We need to do that by 2030. That means rapidly moving away from fossil fuels. It means the use of finite resources such as peace for energy supply has to stop immediately and they're incredibly costly to our living planet to continue to do so. We have to do that in a just way and a just transition means no worker loses out at all. No worker loses any income and no worker loses their job or their terms and conditions. It's extremely simple and it's necessary to do that for the workers who deserve to have the right thing done by them, particularly in the context when successive governments are from the early 2000s knew that we would be facing this situation. But also from the point of view of the environment, precisely for the quote, for the reason given in the quote from Naomi Klein by Deputy Smith, that if we don't have a just transition, you won't have a buy-in from all of the ordinary people across this country for the change that we need. Because these workers, instead of being treated in the way that they're being treated, could be at the heart of, could be extremely skilled workers playing a key role in a national climate service, in transitioning our economy. A Green New Deal with socialist policies involves changing people's lives for the better. It involves giving people quality, decent jobs in transitioning. For example, bog lands have a great potential to be a source of wind and solar power. And we need a proposal from the government to increase wind and solar production, unworked out bog land with major community involvement along with a whole range of other investments and initiatives to ensure that workers don't lose out. Thank you.
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