Green Jobs BC Conference: Jobs that Support and Sustain Healthy Communities

September 24, 2012

On September 21 and 22 MoveUP staff and elected representatives attended the third annual Green Jobs BC Conference, hosted by the Columbia Institute.

The conference brought together over 200 British Columbians from across the labour and environmental movements, as well business, First Nations, community, government, and other sectors interested in building a strong green economy. Through a combination of panel discussions, educational seminars, and plenary speakers, participants deepened their understanding of the issues, and took part in mapping out a green jobs plan for the province.

The keynote presentation on Friday night featured international expert Anabella Rosemberg, the Policy Officer on Environment and Occupational Health and Safety of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

MoveUP delegates attended case studies ranging on topics from Transportation Policy, where participants learned about innovative changes in other jusridictions like Bogota, The Bronx, and Germany, to Localising the Economy which studied closed loop economies which, by emulating an ecosystem, reduce waste. Locally, the Strathcona Green Hub was used as an example. 

On Saturday President David Black spoke on a panel with CCPA economist Marc Lee and Tides Foundation Director Merran Smith, discussing discussing energy, conservation and green jobs in BC. The panel set the stage for policy discussions which were reported back to the conference later in the day. The report back demonstrated a strong desire to put BC Hydro back in the driver’s seat of a clean energy and conservation strategy for the province.

For more photos of the conference, visit the MoveUP facebook page here.