Research Report
A Study on Employment Legislation for the Transition to a Carbon-neutral Society - Focused on Job-related Legislations in the United States -
Ⅰ. Purpose and Method of Research
▶Necessity and purpose of research
○The need for research
-Increasing domestic and international necessity to realize carbon neutrality to respond to climate change
-Korea expects job creation through the link between carbon neutrality and green growth in the legal system
-In the historical background of the New Deal and process transformation in the US, linkage between climate change response and jobs within the legal system
○Purpose of the study
-Analysis of the current status of the US legal system (draft) linking employment with the establishment of a physical and human infrastructure for responding to climate change and deriving implications and issues
-The realization and employment of carbon neutrality in Korea, where the implications and issues of the US legal system can be referenced
▶Differences and methods from previous studies
○Differences from previous studies
-There are many brief forms referring to the policy data of the US government, mainly researching the energy sector and external economic aspects.
-This paper seeks major legal and institutional measures for the continuous and stable realization of carbon neutrality and employment conversion by using comparative legal and preliminary law (draft) analysis methods in the legal and institutional fields of the United States and Korea.
○Method of research
-Analysis based on prior evaluation of carbon neutrality-related legal systems in the United States and Korea
-Implications derived from comparative legal review of US climate change response legislation
○Workshops and expert meetings
-1st - 3rd Workshop: “Analysis of American Carbon Neutrality and Job-Related Legal System” 2022.4-8
-“The 2nd 2022 Climate Change Research Network Meeting” 2022.6.22.
-Utilization of the above expert opinions and footnotes for the current status and implications of the US legal system
Ⅱ. Main Content
▶Current status and direction of the US climate change response and job-related legal system
○Current status of the US climate change response and job-related legal system (Chapter 2, Section 1)
-System of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Major Relevant Regulations
-System of Inflation Reduction Act and Major Relevant Regulations
-Major provisions of other laws and executive orders/rules
○The direction of the establishment of the US climate change response and job-related legal system (Chapter 2, Section 2)
-Organic legal system between infrastructure construction and carbon neutrality and jobs
-Fair transformation in the field of jobs to realize carbon neutrality
-Creation of quality jobs and response to the job market
▶Issues and implications of the US climate change response and job-related legal system
○Linkage between realization of carbon neutrality and job creation
-Establishment of carbon-neutral facilities and legal and institutional linkage of jobs
-Provision of job requirements in the obligations and powers of the implementing body;
Ex)Job creation is stipulated as a legal requirement for the selection criteria for individual projects and subsidy payment, and projects with high potential for job creation within the project period are prioritized
○Establishment of quality standards for job creation
-Establish legal standards for ‘quality’ jobs created in the process of realizing carbon neutrality
-Wage level of jobs created
Ex)Prohibiting the wage level of workers engaged in a project to be lower than that of a project in a similar area. Other laws (the so-called Davis-Bacon Act) are also applied, guaranteeing more than the wage level of similar businesses to subcontractors.
-Guaranteed path to job creation
Ex)Encourage employers to cooperate with labor unions in the adoption of education and training programs
-Domestic creation of jobs
Ex)“Domestic jobs” are stipulated in the criteria for project selection, and “domestic manufacturing and facilities” are stipulated in the support regulations for responding to climate change
-Participation and cooperation of labor unions
Ex)Include union representatives as members of the committees of the relevant ministries and regulate the establishment and support of education and training centers cooperating and operated by employers and labor unions
○Tasks for employment conversion to realize carbon neutrality
-The problem of industry, gender, and regional bias in carbon neutrality and job effects
-Tasks to secure legal stability for labor/social safety nets
Ex)'Income' or 'region' requirements are stipulated in the selection target or criteria for individual projects
▶Tasks and suggestions for employment structure transformation for the realization of carbon neutrality in Korea
○Legal and institutional link between the realization of carbon neutrality and the ‘effect’ of employment
-Establishment of implementation plan based on employment effect and secure legal stability
•A carbon-neutral implementation ‘plan’ based on the ‘effect’ of employment is pre-existing
•Normalization of detailed projects including budget
-Making employment a legal requirement for the implementation, reporting and effectiveness of measures
•Present job creation data or domestic employment growth in the content of the report
○Legal and institutional response to employment structure change to realize carbon neutrality
-Guaranteed ‘pathway’ to job creation
•Consideration of union participation in education and training projects and related committees;
-Creation of “domestic” jobs
•‘Domestic’ job data for the selection requirements for carbon-neutral and green growth-related projects
•Include the degree of 'domestic' employment in the requirements of the business evaluation.
•Include ‘domestic’ employment effect data in the business report and reflect it in the education and training program
-Fair conversion of employment by industry, region, and gender
•Beyond administrative districts/population as the criteria for individual project selection and budgeting, regional and income requirements regulations and project selection criteria include employment or plans for unemployed workers