SCOTLAND’S Just Transition Commission is in the Glasgow and the Lanarkshire area this week to meet with construction workers to hear directly about the changes ahead for the building industry as part of the national effort to tackle the climate emergency.
The group advises the Scottish Government on how the country can achieve a carbon neutral economy fairly. The Commission will visit sites and education facilities in Glasgow, Blantyre, Coatbridge and Hamilton to learn about how Scotland can develop the workforce required to retrofit Scotland’s existing buildings as part of the economy-wide transition to net zero.
The Commission will hear directly from those most likely to be impacted, including a visit to a construction site in Coatbridge to hear from young apprentices, South Lanarkshire College where they will hear about unlocking opportunities for the college and wider college sector, and an open ‘town hall’ session at The Studio in Glasgow on Tuesday evening where they will hear from workers about what it’s like working in the industry and how the sector needs to change as it ‘goes green’.
The Commission will publish a report over the summer with advice to the Scottish Government based on findings from its visit.
Last week the Scottish Government published three discussion papers about how best to achieve a just transition for three sectors: the Built Environment and Construction, Transport and Land Use and Agriculture.
The Commission is chaired by Prof. Jim Skea CBE, a climate scientist and member of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN body whose reports have helped shape the global understanding of the climate emergency over the past 30 years.
In April, the Commission published advice on the Scottish Government’s plan to deliver a green energy system, including the need for risk assessment and contingency planning, the opportunity for jobs to be created in order to construct the new infrastructure that will be required, and the need to ensure these jobs meet fair work standards.
The Commission has so far visited the Western Isles, Peterhead, Aberdeen, Blantyre, Dundee and Edinburgh. Last month it visited Grantown-on-Spey to learn how major changes needed to reach net zero are being communicated to farmers, land managers, and the local community.
Jim Skea said, “As part of Scotland’s just transition, we urgently need to decarbonise our buildings. That brings with it a tremendous opportunity in terms of jobs that will add real and lasting value to our economy. The Commission is in Glasgow this week to hear directly from construction workers and apprentices, the people whose skills and ingenuity will make this happen.”
Commissioner Stephen Good, CEO at Built Environment – Smarter Transformation, added, “Retrofitting our existing buildings, particularly Scotland’s hard-to-treat historic ones, will mean an entirely new workforce must come into play. This includes designers, coordinators, manufacturers, installers, contractors and educators. We need to be seen as an industry of choice, not, as is often the case, an industry of last resort.”
