Branch co-chair and green champion, Steve Gray joined politicians and climate campaigners when he spoke on behalf of Aberdeen Trade Union Council at the Greenpeace Just Transition event at Aberdeen Harbour.
The event took place on Saturday 24th July. The Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior had docked in Aberdeen as part of its journey to engage workers and citizens in discussion around a just transition, in advance of the COP26 Climate Conference coming to Scotland.
Steve spoke of the impact of climate change on the communities in the North East of Scotland and the role of trade unions in supporting a just transition and climate justice. He called for urgent action to support a just transition linked to jobs making the communities of the north east of Scotland climate resilient as the climate crisis bites harder.
You can see his speech in full here.
The aims of the discussion were to focus on:
- The urgency of the climate crisis or how it impacts you, your community or those you represent
- How a shift away from oil & gas will affect you, your community or those you represent
- The existing social issues in Aberdeen and the wider North East region that a transition could also seek to tackle e.g poverty, accessibility…
- How you believe workers and communities should be involved in the process of planning a transition
- What your demands would be of Government in building a transition that protects and improves lives in Aberdeen and the North East