Oil and Gas Workers Concerned About Transitioning Away from Fossils Fuels.

Heavy equipment mechanic Kirk Olsen, working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline project says as an oil and gas worker, he is concerned about the transition away from fossil fuels, even though he believes it is “probably a good thing.”

“If there was a sure thing around the corner and you knew, I’m just going to slide into this other job, everything’s going to be great … it would make a guy feel a lot better,” 

For the past 12 years, Olsen has worked in the industry. He founded his own company four years ago, which specializes in the supply and maintenance of machinery. Working  20 days on-site, then taking 10 days off to return to his home in Campbell River, British Columbia, nearly 1,000 miles away.

According to him, a “just transition” should means the federal government providing training in a new field and guarantees that wages will not decrease. Otherwise he said he feels “like you worked so hard for something and then it kind of gets taken away,” as he told CBC Radio’s What on Earth.

In 2019, as Canada set a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, the federal government pledged a just transition for oil and gas workers facing job losses. According to TD Economics’ research, the industry could affect up to 450,000 workers, out of an estimated 600,000 Canadians employed directly or indirectly.

In July, a consultation process was launched to gather input on proposed federal legislation to help those leaving the industry. Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage called the practise “extremely harmful” to workers.

Travis Hann, a pipefitter near Fort McMurray, Alberta, isn’t concerned about the time it will take to achieve net-zero.

“I’m 37 years old now, so I’ve probably only got another 25 years or so in the industry,” Hann told CBC Radio’s The Current.

“Maybe at some point in time, we may have the need to veer toward a greener energy, but I mean, for the foreseeable future, I think this oil and gas industry is something that’s needed so bad.”

Original source material for this article taken from here