Securing High-skilled Green Jobs in the Gas Sector is Integral to the Just Transition
Brussels, 23 November 2020. Today the European trade union federations, EPSU and industriAll European Trade Union, and the industry association Eurogas, adopted a common position on the Just Transition in the Green Deal. Ensuring the socially responsible transition to renewable and decarbonised gases will provide high-quality employment for Europeans and help achieve climate objectives.
Jan Willem Goudriaan, General Secretary of EPSU, stated: “The next five years will be critical for the future of Europe. Reaching the climate goals and a carbon neutral economy must be our first priority. Fulfilling this goal must be done in an inclusive way in which workers in the gas sector have a future. Trade Unions and Employers from private and public companies need to take responsibility and negotiate a just transition for workers, while ensuring people’s accessibility to clean energy”
Judith Kirton-Darling, Deputy General Secretary of industriAll Europe added that “Succeeding in fair transition of the gas sector to decarbonisation will also contribute to the transition of other large-scale gas consumers, such as energy-intensive industries. Showing that we can offer a just transition for those workers in the gas sector and the industrial value chains will be leading by example on a global level not only in a climate perspective, but also in sustainable employment perspective.”
Eurogas Secretary General, James Watson, concluded: “The EU industrial policies should strive to provide Europe with its own means to achieve carbon-neutrality. The deployment of new gas technologies, including those producing renewable and decarbonised gas, will guarantee high-quality, non-seasonal jobs in the gas sector.”
Press contact | Marina Demidova | marina.demidova@eurogas.org
