Necessary, welcome or dreaded? Insights on low-carbon transitions from unionized energy workers in the United States
Necessary, welcome or dreaded? Insights on low-carbon transitions from unionized energy workers in the United States
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必要、欢迎还是害怕？
DOI：
10.1016/j.erss.2022.102511
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发表时间：
2022
影响因子：
6.7
通讯作者：
Hesse, Arielle
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Sicotte, Diane M.;Joyce, Kelly A.;Hesse, Arielle
2019年的绿色新政决议将美国的重点放在迅速逐步淘汰化石燃料使用的必要性上。作为低碳能源转型的重要参与者，工会能源工作者被认为是关注环境并受到能源转型的影响，但美国能源工作者的关注和需求并没有得到充分的了解。在这项研究中，作为一个更大的劳动力和能源项目的一部分，我们重点关注了2019年和2020年对来自新泽西、纽约和宾夕法尼亚州的八个全国工会的48名工会成员和不同职业的领导人进行的深入采访。能源工人对气候变化的看法各不相同，但与对蓝领工人的成见相反，只有少数人持“气候怀疑论”的观点。尽管美国的政治两极分化，能源工人的政治身份似乎并不重要，因为他们认为美国应该采取什么类型的能源系统。能源工作者对他们将如何受到低碳能源转型影响的看法各不相同，这取决于他们的技能与可再生能源行业所需技能的匹配程度，以及可再生能源行业的条件是增强还是削弱了他们的议价能力。我们的研究结果强调，需要多层次的视角，以纳入一种方法来检查在可再生能源行业的权力关系。我们认为，这些工人的需求和意见应该是美国能源转型的审议和规划的核心。
The Green New Deal resolution in 2019 focused the United States on the need to quickly phase out fossil fuel use. Unionized energy workers, important actors in low-carbon energy transition, are theorized as being concerned about the environment and much affected by the energy transition, but US energy workers are understudied and their concerns and needs are not well understood. In this study, part of a larger project on labor and energy, we focus on in-depth interviews conducted in 2019 and 2020 with 48 labor union members and leaders in varied occupations from eight national unions located in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Energy workers' views on climate change were varied, but contrary to stereotypes about blue-collar workers “climate skeptic” views were held by only a few. Despite political polarization in the US, energy workers' political identity did not seem to be as important regarding what type of energy system they thought the US should adopt. Energy workers' views on how they would be affected by low-carbon energy transition varied according to the degree to which their skills were a good match for skills needed in renewable energy industries and whether their bargaining power was enhanced or disempowered by conditions in renewable energy industries. Our findings emphasize the need for the Multi-Level Perspective to incorporate a way to examine power relations in renewable energy industries. We argue that the needs and opinions of these workers should be central to deliberations and planning for energy transition in the U.S.