So i had a friend of mine ask me about carbon reduction and jobs. He seems like an intelligent guy, but i felt the need to give him a fuller picture. While reports (from the mining industry) that predict job losses of 23,500 in mining (by 2030) might look scary, there's 3 crucial elements that reveal this as scaremongering:
1. The head of the Mining Worker's Union, Tony Maher (who has had frightened members ringing him up) has read the report and reveals that the report predicts 120% growth in Queensland and 60% growth in NSW. The jobs figure relates to extra jobs that might have happened if we continued to pollute regardless. (audio interview here)
2. The Climate Institute report (described as "the good news the polluters don't want you to hear") shows that up to 30,000 jobs would be created in renewable energy alone - with over $30 billion dollars in investment. And a lot of that will end up in regional Austalia.
3. An assessment done by the National Australia Bank shows that emissions reduction actually boosts the economy by around 6 billion dollars each year. If we're talking about 2020, then multiply that figure by 10 years.
It's one thing for the mining industry to whinge to government that avoiding climate change might lose them a few dollars, but to scare workers and manipulate people by playing on their biggest fear is something i find significantly distasteful.
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