New report from Cornell’s Labor Leading on Climate team in collaboration with others provides a workers inquiry on how to decarbonize and diversify defense in the United States and the United Kingdom

Cornell’s Labor Leading on Climate team in collaboration with other researchers recently released, "Decarbonising and Diversifying Defence in the United Kingdom and United States: A Workers' Enquiry for a Just Transition." The report released in July 2022, provides a workers' inquiry on how to decarbonize and diversify the defense sector in the United States and the United Kingdom. This research was conducted by researchers at the University of Glasgow, California State University - Dominguez Hills, University of Bristol and Cornell University and financially supported by the British Academy.   

The study focused on the views of former and current defense sector workers on the defense sector’s transition toward environmental sustainability. The study was framed around the idea of a just transition —  the idea that it is crucial to facilitate dialogue with workers about what a shift to the green economy means for their lives, jobs, and communities. 

The goal of the researchers was to understand what the transition to a green economy means for those who work in the defense industry and their communities. It focused on the US and the UK as they are the two largest defense exporters. 

The study was conducted between October 2021 and March 2022 and it involved interviewing 58 workers from 200 large and small defense corporations. The research team also held international trade union dialogue focus groups in which they invited unions representing defense sector members. 

The study concluded that most defense sector workers interviewed supported the transition toward environmental sustainability. Although the workers had different ideas on what the future of the industry should look like, most of the workers enthusiastically supported the transition to a green energy economy as long as it did not threaten their immediate interests. 

The report ultimately highlights the importance of incorporating worker input into the transition of the defense sector toward environmental sustainability. The defense sector can have detrimental effects on the environment through the products it uses. As a result, it is crucial to not only transition this sector towards environmental sustainability but also do so in the most effective way, through worker inclusion in the planning and decision-making process. 

The report lists a variety of recommendations for companies, unions, governments, NGOs, and workers. Here are some notable ones. View the full list and report here

For companies: 

• Set up structures and programmes so as to include workers at all levels in decarbonization and diversification planning and implementation
• Work with suppliers to estimate upstream emissions and environmental impacts for each product and identify opportunities for switching to more environmentally benign inputs 
• For unions: 
• Create more opportunities for education and dialogue around decarbonization, diversification, and Just Transition with rank-and-file defense workers 
• Prioritize unionizing the ‘green’ sector and improving job security and pay in this sector so that these jobs begin to become more attractive to workers 
• For governments:
• Supply significant ring-fenced funding to enable the defense sector to decarbonize and address its other environmental issues, including adequate financing for the retraining of workers 
• Set up a UK-wide Just Transition Commission, and US-wide equivalent, to ensure that workers’ voice is central to guiding net zero and other environmental policies 

For NGOS: 

• Link up with trade unions on relevant shared interests around achieving a Just Transition 
• Consider focussing on the defense sector as a possible contributor to the problems and solutions you are working on 
• For workers: 
• Propose decarbonization, diversification and Just Transition education and dialogue in your company and union 
• Demand greater consultation and inclusion in company decision-making on these topics