Environmentalists, plant owners and stake lawmakers agreed a just transition for the closure of Washington's Centralia coal plant.
Co-chaired by the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Welsh Government, the Taskforce incorporates members from the worldwide trade union movement, academics and civil society experts. It also builds upon growing international attention to the issue, demonstrated at Katowice (COP24) where the UK and others signed the Silesia Solidarity declaration, and Germany and Canada’s recent experiences undertaking Coal Commissions.
Who is on the PPCA’s Just Transition Taskforce?
The Taskforce is made up of individuals and organisations from around the world who are experts in their field. Drawing on the expertise of the international Trade Union movement, academics and community groups to drive ambition and provide practical support not just to existing PPCA members but also reaching out to the big coal users.
Partners include -
- Samantha Smith, Just Transition Centre (ITUC)
- Bill Adams, Trade Union Congress, UK (TUC)
- Suzanne Jeffrey, One Million Climate Jobs/CACC Trade Union Group
- Professor Linda Clarke, ProBE, University of Westminster
- Rebecca Byrnes, Grantham Institute, LSE
- Professor Nick Robins, Grantham Institute, LSE
- Hassan Yussuff, Canadian Labour Congress
- Frederik Moch, German Trade Union Confederation (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund - DGB)
- Fergus Green, London School of Economics & Political Science
- Jan Steckel, Mercator Research Institute (Germany)
- Andrzej Błachowicz, Climate Strategies
- Jiang Lin, University of California, Berkeley
- Dr Ajay Gambhir, Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment
- Manish Kumar Shrivastava, TERI School of Advanced Studies (India)
- Dr. Lori Thorlakson, Department of Political Science, University of Alberta
- Aleksander Szpor, Instytut Badań Strukturalnych (Institute for Structural Research), Poland
- Jesse Burton, University of Cape Town
What is the point of the Taskforce and what will it do?
The purpose of the Taskforce is threefold:
- Share best practise amongst our existing membership and with each other (the partners)
- Create a wider pool of expert partners that will provide global leadership
- Enable us to approach countries where transitioning workers is the main barrier to change and engage with them with practical solutions
How can I engage with the Taskforce?
The Taskforce has agreed to meet quarterly and members are welcome to join that discussion. Please email Kate James, Senior Policy Advisor on the International Coal Transition for the UK's Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, for more information.