Implementation of a Just Job Transition Strategy for Canada’s Economic Development as a Result of Climate Change and Advancements In Technology – 2019

BACKGROUND: For the last couple of decades, the detrimental impacts of climate change due to global warming have been felt around the globe and are anticipated to increase over time. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report in 2018 warning that climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected to increase once global warming reaches the 1.5º-Celsius mark by 2030. Particularly, multiple studies have shown that climate change significantly impacts women more than men, and disproportionately impacts indigenous peoples and racial minorities due to the inequalities that exist in the current social and economic structures. Climate change impacts and responses are closely linked to sustainable development aimed at balancing social well-being, economic prosperity and environmental protection. In that regard, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an established framework for assessing the links between global warming of 1.5ºC or 2.0ºC and developing goals that include poverty reduction, reducing inequalities through viable work opportunities and economic growth, and climate action. In Canada, the energy sector accounts for almost 11% of its GDP, even though the sector only employs about 1% of the population. Alberta, in conjunction with other provinces, has already responded with job transition initiatives for its coal industry workers as it moves to eliminate its reliance on coal-fired power generation. Programs like this can simultaneously support the transition to a low-carbon economy, secure economic prosperity and encourage the growth of low carbon industries in Canada and accompanying jobs. To achieve such economic growth, the federal and provincial governments must address the gaps that currently exist between the need for job transition in the labour market and the development of training and educational opportunities to meet those goals. Moreover, compounding the changes expected due to meeting climate change goals is the rapid increase in automation and technology, resulting in a major skills gap which must also be addressed. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20 have both highlighted the importance of focusing on jobs and job transition strategies as a means for effectively dealing with the challenges of climate change.
Some studies suggest that Canada is one of a few global economies that may experience a net economic gain brought about by changing climatic conditions. As such, Canada has both a responsibility and an incentive to act as a global leader to meaningfully engage women, indigenous peoples, and racial minorities while supporting low carbon alternatives that mitigate climate change’s negative impacts and benefit all Canadian workers.