The European Commission has estimated that mitigating climate change will create more jobs in the European Union than it will cost, but the changes will be sectoral. Even though labour market restructuring – which is also guided by climate policy - is creating new employment opportunities, it also brings fears of unemployment. Both the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the target of carbon neutrality by the year 2035 set out in the government programme of Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin refer to a just transition for workers towards a low-carbon society. Such a just transition has long been sought by the trade union movement and is an important condition for achieving ambitious climate policy objectives.
This report provides information to substantiate the implementation and preparation of Finland’s climate policy and to promote its social fairness. It presents concrete recommendations from SAK (the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions) on how to involve workers in Finland. It also sets out concrete examples in which a just transition for workers has already been implemented in European countries, specifically the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, and Scotland. Additionally, it examines the example of Canada, where climate policy has been prepared and implemented in a way that is exceptionally fair and socially inclusive.