The postponement of COP26 to November 2021 with the UK government acting as host and president must not derail action on climate over the next eighteen months, warned the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Governments have less than one year to update their climate plans (NDCs), ten years to cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least 45 per cent and just thirty years to reach net zero by 2050.
The ITUC’s second annual Global Day of Action to Climate- and Employment-Proof Our Work (#CEPOW) on 24 June will put the spotlight on businesses to plan for a sustainable recovery.
“Momentum has to continue despite the delay to the climate talks. These are difficult times for many workers – Covid-19 is disrupting lives and livelihoods. We’re in a race against time to control the pandemic, and we’re in a race against time to respond to climate change.
“Before the pandemic spread from continent to continent, we faced a convergence of crises, and the climate emergency is, and will remain, an imperative for action to save human beings from extinction,” said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.
The promise of global leaders in 2015 has the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a road map for recovery and resilience. These global agreements hold an implicit recognition of the fractures that are increasingly leaving people behind and putting democracy, rights, equality and sustainability at risk.
“We know the world cannot go back to business as usual – recovery plans must ensure a socially just future, along with plans to Climate- and Employment-Proof Our Work.
“Covid-19 has put jobs and employment front and centre for recovery plans, and job security is a serious concern for people. That’s why we need to have the conversation about climate and employment. On 24 June, take part in the biggest global conversation about our future.
“We must ensure that governments, companies and organisations put Just Transition at the centre of new plans for ambitious climate action. These plans should be coordinated with the urgent economic stimulus plans and workplace measures needed to protect the health and the income of workers and their families to stabilise the real economy.
“Together we can design a future with secure jobs, sustainable economies and a healthy living planet”, said Sharan Burrow.
Join the campaign to Climate- and Employment-Proof Our Work, and show your support:
- Share the video ‘viruses and climate change know no borders’ on your social media channels using #CEPOW.
- Share these infographics on social media channels using #CEPOW: https://trello.com/c/uy9f223s/79-infographics
- Sign up for the Global Day of Action: https://www.ituc-csi.org/cepow and download the ’Climate and Employment Proof Our Work’ guide for all the information and tools for this campaign.
- Tell us about your job: Send us a photo of you at work that may be at home, in your office, or out on the job and tell us what you do. Let us know if you are worried about climate change affecting your job.
- Ask to talk to your employer, a local business or someone from your local or national government on 24 June: Let us know if you ask for a meeting, and we will keep a tally of all places around the world taking part in the Global Day of Action. Your meeting can be in person or a virtual meeting.
- Tell us how it went: Share a photo of you in person or virtual meeting and the highlights of what was discussed.
