Taoiseach urged to set up Just Transition Taskforce as matter of priority

July 30th, 2019

The Taoiseach has been
urged by environmental campaigners to set up a Just Transition Taskforce for
coal and peat workers in the face of coming layoffs and redundancies. 

Friends of the Earth
Ireland (FOE) and Fridays for Future school strikers sent a letter today to
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar imploring him to announce a Taskforce to confront the
growing plight of coal and peat communities. 

The letter urged the
Taoiseach to make such a commitment during a speech he gave on Sustainable
Development Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth – at the Stakeholder Forum
on the Sustainable Development Goals at Dublin Castle. 

Last week, An Bord
Pleanala refused permission for the ESB to convert its peat plant at Shannonbridge in Co Offaly to
co-fire with biomass due to biodiversity and climate concerns. The next day, SIPTU said that
over a thousand peat-industry jobs could disappear over the next six months as
a result. 

Additionally, ESB
announced this month its intention to lay off half of the Moneypoint power
station workforce and the Lough Ree peat station in the Midlands was closed
down indefinitely earlier this month following EPA compliance issues.

In order to address
this growing problem, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions adopted a resolution
earlier this month calling for a Just Transition Commission that would put
social dialogue and collective bargaining at the centre of the transition away
from fossil fuels. 

The Joint Oireachtas
Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA) report issued earlier this year
recommended such a Just Transition Taskforce which would bring together the
Government, the unions, the ESB, Bord Na Mona and all the stakeholders around
the same table. 

“The Government’s
failure to set up a Just Transition Taskforce is baffling,” said FOE Director
Oisin Coghlan, who was at the SDG Stakeholder event today.

Their “refusal” to
negotiate a plan for the closure of “the coal and peat stations is leading to a
disorderly exit from fossil fuels rather than a Just Transition,” Mr Coghlan
continued. 

Failing to implement a
plan to wind down the stations threatens public trust in the rest of the
Government’s climate action plan, Mr Coghlan said. 

Under the Plan
published last month, the Government intends to establish a Just Transition
Review Group under the National Economic and Social Council. 

“If they can’t even talk to the trade unions, how can we trust them to implement a new carbon tax in a fair and effective way,” Mr Coghlan said.

About the Author

Kayle Crosson

Kayle is a multimedia journalist focused on climate and environmental issues and contributes to The Irish Times and The Green News.

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