Received from: GMB
Congress recognises that energy is at a crossroads. The sector is an important source of unionised jobs, but current policies are failing workers as jobs are offshored and terms and conditions attacked.
Congress further notes that:
i. Most of the UK’s nuclear plants will be shut down by 2030, and the future of the world’s best-developed gas distribution network is under threat.
ii. The cost of subsidies for renewable energy is rising but the number of jobs is falling; many components are produced in countries with appalling human rights records while our fabrication yards lie empty; and 800,000 UK manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last 15 years.
Congress believes that:
a. The UK accounts for less than 1 per cent of global territorial emissions, and tackling global warming requires a co-ordinated international response – not the unilateral tearing down of our industries.
b. We need a balanced energy mix that includes renewables, nuclear, and the flexibility currently provided by gas.
Congress resolves that the TUC will support and campaign for:
1. the construction of new nuclear plants, benefiting communities from Sizewell to West Cumbria; and the development of Small Modular Reactors
2. hydrogen as the default for heating buildings, with investment in production and CCUS to provide a sustainable future for gas workers
3. radical policies to support strong UK supply chains, including tough social value in procurement targets; a moratorium on Contracts for Difference awards that enable the offshoring of jobs; and exploring proposals for a UK carbon border tariff.
GMB
Amendment
In the final paragraph, sub-paragraph 2:
Before “hydrogen” insert “low-carbon heating, with ‘green’, ‘blue’ and other forms of low-carbon”
After “buildings”, insert “supported by the electrification of heat in hard-to-connect properties,”
After “production”, insert “of these forms of energy”.
Unite