英國柴契爾主義下的煤礦產業不公正轉型

The Unjust Transition of Coal Industry under British Thatcherism

自工業革命以來，煤礦可謂是驅動當代社會與經濟生產體系發展的重要動能。然而，大量使用煤礦所產生的碳排放，也成為全球溫室效應的主要原因之一。此等問題在1950年代初期受到國際社會的關注，進而達成減少碳排放的能源轉型共識。即便如此，對於煤礦從業人員之權益，並不能夠在轉型過程中被輕易犧牲與捨棄，從而達成公正轉型（just transition）的目標。其中，首波工業化國家之一的英國，2021年於Boris Johnson擔任首相時的一場演講，提及Margret Thatcher的政策有助於英國煤礦產業的公正轉型，引起輿論的撻伐。基於煤礦產業在公正轉型上的複雜性，本研究嘗試以英國為案例，由煤礦產業發展之結構性觀點，以及英國政府機構之政策意識型態觀點，檢視與探討英國於煤礦產業轉型所達成的目的與目標，是否符合公正轉型的意涵。本文欲指出，即便在全球減碳的共識之下，煤礦產業的衰退或為必然趨勢。但英國煤礦產業的退卻，更在於Thatcher主政（1979至1990年）期間所貫徹的市場經濟、私有化與大力打擊工會運作的諸多政策所致；此即柴契爾主義（Thatcherism）的核心精神。在專注於市場化與私有化的政策邏輯下，即便在綠色工作與綠色就業的創造皆有所達成，惟煤礦從業人員的就業安全、轉型、訓練等，可謂付之闕如。因此，若以ILO的公正轉型理念－「不應遺落任何人」－觀之，英國的煤礦產業轉型，充其量是一場不公正的轉型。

Since the Industrial Revolution, coal has been a crucial driving force in the development of contemporary social and economic production systems. However, the extensive use of coal has emerged as one of the main causes of global greenhouse gas emissions. This issue caught the attention of the international community in the early 1950s, leading to a consensus on the need for an energy transition to reduce carbon emissions. Despite this, the rights and interests of coal workers should not be easily sacrificed or neglected in the transition process, if the goal of achieving a just transition is to be realised. In 2021, during a speech by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the policies of Margaret Thatcher were mentioned as facilitating a just transition in the UK’s coal industry, which subsequently sparked widespread criticism. In this context, in order to scrutinise the complexities surrounding the just transition mentioned above, this study takes the United Kingdom as a case to examine and explore, from the structural perspective of coal industry development and the ideological perspective of British government policy agencies, whether the objectives and goals achieved in the transition of the UK’s coal industry align with the meaning of a just transition. The main findings indicate that, under the global consensus on carbon reduction, the decline of the coal industry is an inevitable trend. However, the retreat of the UK’s coal industry is additionally attributed to numerous policies implemented during Thatcher’s administration (1979 to 1990), emphasising market economics, privatisation, and a vigorous crackdown on union activities—core tenets of Thatcherism. Under the policy logic focusing on marketisation and privatisation, even though achievements were made in creating green jobs and employment, the job security, transition, and training of coal workers were largely neglected. Therefore, when viewed through the lens of the ILO’s just transition concept—‘leaving no one behind’—the transition of the UK’s coal industry amounts, at best, to an unjust transition.