As the chairman emeritus and former CEO of Dow Chemical, and the vice president and co-chair of the international committee of one of the most powerful union confederations in the U.S., we don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to a vision for how we achieve U.S. economic growth. But we do when it comes to addressing a critical challenge for American workers and businesses: climate change.
We also critically agree that the Paris Agreement provides the U.S. the best, albeit not perfect, framework for addressing the growing climate crisis. This framework allows freedom to pursue a competitive path toward emissions reductions—one that creates American jobs, stabilizes trade, and has a commitment to a just transition at its core.
The Paris accord will help ensure American competitiveness and long-term opportunities for our working families into the future. Research from the New Climate Economy has shown that transitioning to a low-carbon future by 2030 holds a $26 trillion economic prize globally. Reaching that requires policies, aligned with the agreement’s framework, that allow companies to set and deliver on ambitious climate targets.
Paris’s framework supports a level of ambition that has allowed, for instance, insurers and pension funds with nearly $4 trillion under management to set 1.5 degrees Celsius targets for their portfolios. It also encouraged 177 companies to commit to a joint campaign, announced at the recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25), aimed at limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. Meeting these ambitious goals will require monumental changes to the way businesses and workers act. It’s incumbent on both, therefore, to make a just transition to a clean economy.
Today, it’s increasingly clear that if we continue with business as usual—only chasing short-term profits—we will destroy our ability to deliver that just transition. Now, it’s time for CEOs and boards to operate their businesses with a long-term focus. We can’t be part of the problem. We have to be part of the solution. We have the technology, we have the will, and we have the staying power.
American unions also stand by the need for a just transition to a green economy. Simply demanding that plants or industries shut down with no plan, jobs, or investment for people that will be put out of work, and showing no solidarity with those whose lives or local economies depend on fossil fuels, will hinder meaningful climate action.
While we must invest in the technologies we need to ensure that emissions come down, we must also invest in implementation of national plans that ensure the jobs created are good, quality jobs that protect workers and their communities affected by these shifts with income support, secure pensions, and skills development and training.
One example of how companies are increasingly focusing on delivering a just transition as part of achieving emissions targets came at September’s UN Climate Action Summit. A coalition of nine major energy companies, led by Isabelle Kocher, CEO of Engie, and Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, committed to ensuring green and decent jobs for their workers through a just transition.
This is a significant step that supports a people-centric shift to a net-zero greenhouse gas economy. The need for cooperation on climate change and a just transition is only increasing. This means that a just transition must respect labor rights and be grounded in dialogue between business, unions, and government.
Four years ago, governments, major companies, unions, and civil society recognized this and came together to rally behind the Paris Agreement. This shared belief was reiterated most recently when more than 80 CEOs, employing more than 2 million people in the U.S., and the AFL-CIO, representing 12.5 million workers, called on the U.S. to remain in the Paris Agreement.
These companies and union leaders stand united behind the Paris Agreement because they believe it will keep the U.S. economy competitive and create opportunity for the growth of green and decent jobs. They are committed to a just transition of the workforce—one that respects labor rights and is achieved through dialogue with workers and their unions. The U.S. economy is moving in the right direction, but with the scale of the climate crisis growing, the cost of failing to deliver a just transition is higher than ever.
It’s not too late to take action. While the U.S. began formal withdrawal from the agreement last month, this period lasts the course of the next year—through Nov. 4, 2020. Until then, it’s up to all of us, including business and government leaders, to make our voices heard for the good of our workers, communities, and economy.
It’s up to all of us to call on the U.S. government to remain in the Paris Agreement.
Stuart Appelbaum is president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union and co-chair of the international committee of the AFL-CIO.
Andrew Liveris is chairman emeritus and former CEO of Dow Chemical.
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