TORONTO, January 18, 2011 - Climate change activists, academics and union representatives will meet Thursday to discuss how to create “green” jobs in Canada and make existing jobs more green as well.
The “Green/ing Jobs” panel discussion is part of the Work in a Warming World (W3) project led by York University professor Carla Lipsig-Mummé. The project brings together 43 organizations and researchers from 10 universities, in three countries, to examine how the work world can help slow global warming, and to develop practical strategies for adapting employment to a warming world.
The panel discussion, which will be held in downtown Toronto, will address issues such as: what is a green job, who will benefit in the transition to a low-carbon economy, and what strategies will be needed to transition to greener workplaces.
Speakers include:
Clare Demerse, associate director of the Climate Change Program, the Pembina Institute, who will discuss the need to convey the net employment benefits of efforts to reach Canada’s emissions reduction targets, and to focus on the number of net new jobs a given green policy could create.
Sara Letourneau, director of the Labour Climate Project, BlueGreen Alliance (US), a partnership of nine major unions and four national environmental organizations, who will speak about creation of green jobs in the U.S. In 2009, almost $80 billion was directed clean energy investment in residential weatherization, advanced energy manufacturing tax credits, the expansion of renewable energy, high speed rail, advanced auto technology, green jobs training programs and other initiatives.
Carla Lipsig-Mumme, principal investigator of Work in a Warming World (W3) and professor of Work and Labour Studies, York University, who will speak about the lack of agreement in defining green jobs. She calls for a broader mix of strategies for reducing emissions and will explore the ways that greening both work and employment can make the work world a significant actor in transitioning to a lower-carbon economy.
John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, who will describe the Better Buildings Partnership in Toronto and initiatives in the U.S. and Europe that could serve as models for a comprehensive green redesign of all economic sectors.
Tony Clarke, director of the Polaris Institute of Canada, who will discuss the Green Economy Network, a new initiative of union and economic and social justice organizations in Canada that is calling for expanded public transit in urban areas and intra-city high speed rail, public investment in development of clean renewable energy and an energy efficiency program through retrofitting buildings across Canada.
Marjorie Griffin Cohen, professor in the Department of Political Science of Simon Fraser University, who will focus on the need for major changes in Canada’s energy production sector, which contributes 37.4 per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the need for renewable electricity production by existing public utilities rather than the private sector.
WHAT: “Green/ing Jobs: Definitions, Dilemmas, Strategies” panel
WHEN: Thursday, January 20, 2011, 3pm
WHERE: Jackman Humanities Building Room 100A, 170 St. George Street, Toronto
INFO: http://www.workinawarmingworld.yorku.ca
RSVP: W3info@yorku.ca (space is limited)
Background Information: Funded by the Social Science & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Work in a Warming World (W3) project is affiliated with York’s Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS). An earlier project funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and SSHRC, and also led by Lipsig-Mummé, produced key findings on the state of knowledge about climate change and work in six of Canada’s key economic sectors. The report, “What do we know? What do we need to know? The State of Canadian Research on Work, Employment and Climate Change” can be downloaded at this link: http://www.yorku.ca/warming/news.html.
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 Faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Media Contacts:
Sabreena Delhon, project coordinator, Work in a Warming World (W3), 416 736 2100 x44106, delhon@yorku.ca
Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22101 / wallsj@yorku.ca
