At first meeting of IEA's new Clean Energy Labour Council, leading figures examine how to ensure workers are not left behind by energy transitions

The IEA’s new Clean Energy Labour Council held its first meeting today, bringing together leading trade union figures and other important voices from around the world to foster stronger dialogue on how governments can ensure clean energy transitions are people-centred and inclusive.

Convened by IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, the Council’s members comprise representatives of the world’s most important national trade unions and trade union confederations, as well as prominent thinkers on the topic. It complements the IEA’s existing Energy Business Council, which promotes exchanges between the Agency, the business community and policy makers.

Today’s livestreamed meeting was co-chaired by Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, and Bheki Ntshalintshali, General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions. It provided an opportunity for all members to introduce their perspectives on the key labour issues affecting clean energy transitions. The full video of the meeting is available to watch below.

“The IEA’s dialogue with the energy industry has helped inform our work, and I believe the perspectives of our Clean Energy Labour Council will equally provide valuable input,” Dr Birol told participants in the meeting. “While our analysis shows that the transition will create millions more jobs than will be lost, we must limit the impacts on affected communities and ensure proper training and skills for the jobs of the future. Governments have the scope to do much more to ensure their clean energy transition plans are truly people-centred and inclusive.”

The Labour Council builds off the work of the Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions, an independent group convened by Dr Birol last year including heads of government, ministers and thought leaders. The Global Commission produced 12 key actionable recommendations aimed at enabling citizens to benefit from the opportunities and navigate the disruptions created by clean energy transitions.

Jobs, skills development, training, social dialogue were key themes of the Global Commission’s Recommendationsand will be explored further by this new Council, which will give a greater voice to the labour perspective in energy and climate policymaking.

In the pathway the IEA set out last year for reaching net zero emissions globally by 2050, increases in clean energy employment more than offset declines in fossil fuel sectors, resulting in a net increase of nearly 9 million jobs. A further 16 million jobs could be created in related fields such as efficient appliances, building retrofits, and electric and fuel cell vehicles. 

However, these new opportunities would not necessarily be in the same places where jobs are lost while the skills they require may be considerably different. This is true both within specific countries and internationally. Even when the number of energy industry jobs lost is small, the impact on the local economy can be significant. And the new jobs can only be filled if workers have the right skill sets. 

Governments need to manage the impacts in a coordinated way, seeking transition pathways that maximise opportunities for decent, high-quality work and for workers to make use of existing skills, and mobilising long-term support for workers and communities where jobs are lost. The IEA Clean Energy Labour Council will examine these issues, giving a greater voice to the labour perspective in energy and climate policy making.

• Co-Chair: Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
• Co-Chair: Bheki Ntshalintshali, General Secretary, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)
• Rhoda Boateng, Programme Coordinator, ITUC Africa​
• Bea Bruske, President, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
• Chandra Bhushan, President, International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology, India
• Plamen Dimitrov, President, Bulgarian Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CITUB)
• Peggy Hessen Følsvik, First Deputy Leader, Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO Norway)
• Carmen Foro, General Secretary, Unified Workers' Central (CUT Brazil)
• Brad Markell, Executive Director, AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council
• Frederik Moch, Head of Department for Structural Policy, Industry and Service, Federal Executive Board of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB)
• Lebogang Mulatisi (COSATU Sherpa), Labour Market Policy Coordinator, COSATU 
• Muriel Penicaud, Ambassador at the Permanent Representative of France to the OECD, Former Minister of Labour, France
• Elly Rosita Silaban, President, Confederation of All Indonesian Trade Unions (KSBSI)
• Samantha Smith (ITUC Sherpa), Director, Just Transition Centre, ITUC
• Laurence Tubiana, CEO, European Climate Foundation
• Ayuba Wabba, President, ITUC and President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)
• Shoya Yoshida, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation - Asia Pacific (ITUC-AP)