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Populism could derail the green transition

"Western politicians are scared of a backlash against policies that have been sold as good for the economy."

goals are perceived to be championed by elites while for the ordinary person, the cost of the transition is too high.

ft.com/content/b9912ffe-08dd-4

Financial Times · Populism could derail the green transitionBy Gideon Rachman

"The strikes and the EV transition in general are hastening a moment of reckoning for the Democratic party. The wealthy coastal progressives who drive the Teslas that represent 60 per cent of all EVs sold in the US often care more about fixing climate change than labour rights. But if the Republican party nominates Trump and he wins, neither the planet nor workers will be safer. "

ft.com/content/bda59c3b-3038-4

Financial Times · The stakes of the US autoworker strike could not be higherBy Rana Foroohar

If you want to avoid climate policy backlash, you must put social justice at the center of your policy.

Demanding everyone puts heat pumps in their house if they can't afford them invites backlash.

Asking auto workers to support the EV transition while you don't have their back invites backlash.

Expecting farmers to suddenly do things differently invites backlash.

Levying a fee for entering a zone without providing viable alternatives to travel by car invites backlash.

You need to bring everyone along. An example of doing it right:

When Spain closed down their last coal mines in 2018, they spent €250 million on :

- early retirement for miners over the age of 48,
- restorative environmental measures in coal communities
- retrain coal miners to begin working with safer, more modern green technologies."

These mines were closed without a fight. (I mean, did you even hear about the closures?)

goodnewsnetwork.org/with-coal-

Good News Network · With Most of Their Coal Mines Closing by End of the Year, Spain is Spending Millions to Preserve Miners' LivelihoodThe initiative will benefit hundreds of coal miners who may have otherwise been left behind by the shift towards green energy.

Good start:

"’s decision to join the would be remarkable on its own. Beyond the obvious symbolism, his presence there lends tangible material support to workers’ demands, handing the union leverage over companies that might otherwise reasonably assume he’d have their backs.

It could also usher in a broader shift in the way he and other Democrats talk about policy."


theguardian.com/commentisfree/

The Guardian · Biden is right to praise the auto strike. His climate agenda depends on itBy Kate Aronoff

"The behind California Labor for Climate Jobs represent teachers, utility workers, farmworkers, janitors and more. Their initial policy platform, the Workers’ Climate Bill of Rights, urges policymakers to invest in safety nets for oil and gas industry employees, including coverage and relocation, and to fund programs that prepare those employees for similarly well-paying union jobs in climate-friendly fields."

latimes.com/environment/newsle

Los Angeles Times · Can climate activists and labor unions find common ground?Fossil fuel workers are part of a new coalition pushing California to do more on clean energy.

"While there’s rising demand for people to build electric cars, construct solar farms, or upgrade insulation, it will take a concerted effort to help people working in coal power plants or building diesel trucks fill those vacancies."


vox.com/climate/2023/10/30/239

Vox · What the UAW strike against Ford, GM, and Stellantis says about the shift to clean energyBy Umair Irfan

" Gov. Gretchen is set to sign a package of bills that would transition the state to 100 percent by 2040. The bills include robust provisions for workers & are among the most ambitious efforts undertaken by any state to move toward a carbon-free future in a manner that is actively good for working people. Significantly, Democrats are testing this approach in a swing state in the heart of the industrial Midwest."


washingtonpost.com/opinions/20

The Washington Post · How Gretchen Whitmer is quietly solving a big problem for DemocratsBy Greg Sargent

"President Joe ’s landmark law is driving outsized funding into low-income, less-educated and fossil fuel towns, according to a new analysis the Treasury Department released Wednesday.

The study found that so-called energy communities — those with historical ties to industries like coal — have seen some of the fastest growth in these investments."

nbcnews.com/business/economy/p

NBC News · Poorer areas have seen the bulk of clean energy funds in the Inflation Reduction Act’s wake, Treasury findsBy Brian Cheung

@CelloMomOnCars
I mean your point is right and all but I have a folder on my laptop with Solidarity With Spanish Miners flyers from 2010 or something.
There was a *massive* fight, the miners struck and marched from Asturias to Madrid, it was news for weeks.
They got the things they got because they fought for them and they fought *hard*. Barricades and all sorts.

@onepict

@priryo @CelloMomOnCars @onepict all sorts including those homemade rocket launchers we all saw on Youtube

@rooftopaxx @priryo @onepict

That massive fight was under Rajoy, the (very) conservative PM.

This coal mine closure was under Sanchez, the PM from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party.

It shows you how elections matter.

@CelloMomOnCars @priryo @onepict alternatively it shows how the militant struggles in 2011-12 laid the groundwork for a more just transition in 2018?

@CelloMomOnCars — I would so love to see her running for president right now.

@CelloMomOnCars Well, people in northern Spain CRIED this year when coal-powered power plants were blown out.
Because that was a symbol of their towns and villages disappearing forever as coal industry disappeared.