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It's time for #NLgov to begin a #JustTransition with a managed oil wind-down. @delia_warren16 & I explain why in a new piece. Here's a thread with key links. 1/12
#nlpoli @GovNL @FureyAndrew @nlliberals @PCoppositionNL @PCPartyNL @NLNDPCaucus https://www.thetelegram.com/opinion/local-perspectives/letter-time-for-oil-wind-down-just-transition-529731/
#nlpoli @GovNL @FureyAndrew @nlliberals @PCoppositionNL @PCPartyNL @NLNDPCaucus https://www.thetelegram.com/opinion/local-perspectives/letter-time-for-oil-wind-down-just-transition-529731/
This month, #NLgov gave $41 million to the West White Rose project (which might not be built) to protect 331 jobs. Every job matters, especially now. But these funds should have been used to kickstart a #JustTransition for the long-term benefit of all workers & our economy. 2/12
The climate imperative is clear: producers must ratchet down oil production by 6% each year to avoid catastrophic climate crisis. Check out the UN-backed #ProductionGap report. 
#UnburnableCarbon 3/12 https://productiongap.org/
#UnburnableCarbon 3/12 https://productiongap.org/
The money is also walking. Investors with trillions under management, the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, Black Rock, the European Investment Bank, etc., are getting out of fossil fuels. NY's $226B pension fund dropped them last week. #divestment 4/12 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/nyregion/new-york-pension-fossil-fuels.html
Even oil companies are getting out. Five of the largest oil companies in the West—BP, Chevron, Exxon, Shell, and Total—have to date set aside $70 billion in fossil fuel assets. The European companies are re-directing investments toward renewables. 5/12 https://financialpost.com/executive/executive-summary/posthaste-imperial-oils-massive-write-off-suggests-the-era-of-stranded-canadian-assets-is-already-here
Last month, Mark Carney told the financial sector that the low carbon transition is “the greatest commercial opportunity of our age.” It’s also jobs-rich: the International Labour Organization estimates 24 million new green jobs in the 2020s. 6/12 https://www.ilo.org/weso-greening/#Intro-1
So governments are turning their backs on fossil fuel extraction. Denmark. France. Germany. Ireland. New Zealand. Spain. The list grows by the month. We're headed toward a global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty #Fossilfueltreaty @fossiltreaty 7/12 http://fossilfueltreaty.org
What does this mean for NL's economic recovery? We need a just transition plan that winds down our dependence on oil and scales up sectors aligned with a low carbon future. This is *the* key challenge for the Recovery Team set up by @FureyAndrew. 8/12 https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2020/exec/1022n02/
NL is ready for it with strong renewable energy resources, a growing tech sector, R&D facilities, construction know-how, & infrastructure. And via the oil industry, we have relationships with the very companies that are now benefiting in diversifying away from fossil fuels. 9/12
That NL could enter the global oil game seemed like a moonshot in the 1970s. But we got there through government leadership: learning from abroad, investing in R&D, building infrastructure, retooling MUN & CNA to train workers, & enticing private investment. 10/12
From this, NL briefly tasted (some of the) economic benefits of oil. But along the way, we became purveyors and promoters of fossil fuels that are primarily responsible for the climate crisis... and that are now being ditched due to major market, tech, & political shifts. 11/12
This is a tough but essential conversation for NL. Thanks to @Pam_Frampton @StJohnsTelegram for running the piece & to @delia_warren16 for her petroleum & renewable engineering expertise. To hear more, check out this thread re. @OnTheGoCBC chats. 12/12 https://twitter.com/AngelaVCarter/status/1335944066241077251?s=20
