1. A climate plan and a jobs plan will prepare us for the future.
What we need is a climate plan and a jobs plan that will put Newfoundland and Labrador on the path to building a sustainable clean-energy economy for everyone. What we want is for our government to tap into the province’s massive renewable energy potential and create thousands of family-sustaining union jobs. And what we want is for all of us, government, business, and labour, to act now.
2. Our plan will help transition NL’s economy now.
If Newfoundland and Labrador is to meet its clean energy goals, the province must begin developing cost effective and efficient pathways to zero emissions now.
All the technologies needed to achieve deep cuts in GHGs already exist,[1] and a major worldwide push is on to build renewable energy, increase energy efficiency for buildings and manufacturing, develop flexible transmission grids, transition manufacturing and mining to clean energy, and electrify transport and freight.
We have less than 3 decades to make this happen. So, we have to start acting now. More public money put into oil and gas here will not help us. Nor will building more oil and gas export capacity help us transition. These choices will not create more high-quality long-term jobs. With the planet transitioning to clean energy sources, more good money after bad will only put our future at risk.
3. We can no longer afford to ignore the problem and we can’t bet on the wrong industry.
Working people in NL have had to adapt to enormous change throughout our history. When the cod fishery collapsed, the province hung its hopes on a new industry: oil. Oil was supposed to be our economic saviour.
But what is clear is that we can no longer keep on with ‘business as usual’. New fossil fuel industry proposals will not address the climate crisis. There is no such thing as ‘clean oil’[2] -- all oil and gas production releases carbon emissions. Listening only to overheated oil industry rhetoric will not help us build the clean energy and the infrastructure that we need for a safe and prosperous future.
[1] IRENA. (2021). World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5C Pathway. Abu Dhabi: International Renewable Energy Agency.
[1] SEI, IISD, ODI, E3G, and UNEP. (2021). The Production Gap Report 2021. http://productiongap.org/2021repor