USW members know that working people are on the front line of the climate crisis, so carbon emissions are a union issue. We have campaigned for a sustainable, just economy for decades and we approach this consultation in that context.1 The USW broadly supports emissions reduction across industry and believe market mechanisms are necessary but not sufficient for addressing carbon emissions. These interventions must be tied to industrial strategy, worker protection and meaningful investment in alternative technologies and industries that provide good quality, union jobs that allow workers to build a decent life. Without this, emissions reduction plans and policies will fail politically and economically.
We call on the government to:
- Integrate emissions reduction with industrial policy and employment strategy
- Ensure the Emissions Reduction Account (ERA) is robust, transparent and includes a role for labour
- Implement a Carbon Border Adjustment (CBA) to prevent carbon leakage and unfair competition.
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