Professor John Barry, QUB
Calls by unions for nationalisation of the shipyard are perfectly consistent with action on climate
John Barry, Professor of Green Political Economy at Queens University Belfast today launched an open letter urging academics, politicians and the wider public to back the Harland & Wolff workforce campaign to safeguard jobs and skills at Belfast shipyard. The open letter seeks support not just for the retention but expansion of the shipyard in light of its vital importance for a ‘just transition’ to a future sustainable economy.
Professor Barry spoke of the reasons he has brought forward this initiative.
“As a society we have passed a ‘tipping point’ on addressing the climate and ecological crisis; politicians and decision-makers globally are ‘playing catch up’ with recent mobilisations demanding greater and faster action on our climate crisis. The most recent climate science stresses the scale and urgency of reducing greenhouse emissions. In order to meet the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to stay below two degrees warming, global emissions will have to peak less than a year from now and thereafter reduce by more than seven percent annually. If we want to meet the goal of the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that is the lower and safer 1.5 degree warming target, we require ‘far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society’ with reductions of between 30-50 percent in global emissions by 2030 in energy, land use, transportation and agriculture. We desperately need leadership to meet this challenge. Continue reading
After Scottish government announce they will nationalise Ferguson Marine shipyard, unions call on UK government to safeguard jobs and skills in Belfast
Aul’ hands on deck to Save Our Shipyard
