ATUC is hosting an open event on a just transition for Aberdeen, on Wednesday 25th July at 7pm in the ATUC premises at 22a Adelphi, AberdeenThe event will look at the opportunities and barriers for workers and society in north-east Scotland.
It will ask what climate change and sustainability imperatives mean for a region like north-east Scotland which relies heavily on oil and gas production for employment and economic prosperity.
Click here for the Facebook event page
The idea of a 'just transition' is gaining increasing attention in policy and governance circles as a means of ensuring that the move to a more environmentally-attuned society does not create or enhance inequalities.
In the context of places like Aberdeen and the north-east, this has come to mean ensuring that people employed in industries such as oil and gas are given the opportunity to transition to work in activities compatible with climate change and environmental targets.
Dr Leslie Mabon from Robert Gordon University will kick-off a discussion on what a just transition for Aberdeen might look like and how this might be achieved, by presenting examples from other regions with close relations to high-emitting industries.
The evening will be run in two parts. In the first part, Leslie will present some background to just transitions thinking and its implications for Aberdeen and the north-east. In the second part, we will open out into a discussion on what the main challenges, concerns and opportunities are for enacting a just transition in Aberdeen and the north-east.
The intended outcome will be a list of questions for further discussion/research around just transitions from a trade union perspective.
All welcome!
Dr Leslie Mabon is a Reader in Environment and Society at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. He is especially interested in environmental issues that are not so clear cut and ‘easy’ to address – for example, where there is a clearly-defined technical and scientific course of action to be followed, which might have to be balanced with what is considered socially acceptable or desirable. One of his main research areas in this regard is ‘just transitions’ for high-emitting and carbon-intensive regions, where climate imperatives may have to be balanced with local concerns over employment and economic sustainability. Leslie has conducted research on this topic in northern Japan as well as in Aberdeen, and presented this research at the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Cities and Climate Change Science Conference in 2018. Leslie has a PhD in Geography, and is a member of the Young Academy of Scotland. You can read about his work at energyvalues.wordpress.com, and on Twitter at @ljmabon