Trade union cooperation to combat climate change

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges that the international trade union movement must address. The CFDT, is at the leading edge on this subject and has set it as a theme for its trade union cooperation with the poorest countries.

In recent years, the position taken by the international trade union movement on climate change has been ambitious and realistic which has allowed it to have an influence on the debate. Trade union action resulted in the inclusion of a reference to the need for “just transition” in the UNFCCC’s negotiators’ texts (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) during the Copenhagen summit in December 2009. At that time, Marcel Grignard, CFDT Deputy General Secretary stressed that “the objectives shared by the CFDT, European and global trade unions in the fight against climate change aim to implement just transitions. On one hand, helping the least developed countries who risk being most affected by climate change by providing financial support and technology transfers; and on the other hand, by anticipating changes in the labour market in developed countries to ensure that employment levels remain stable”.

Financial transaction tax

A further step was taken 18 months later during the Bonn negotiations last June: The ITUC and its civil society partners called for a financial transaction tax to create jobs and support climate resilience.
It is within this framework that the ITUC and the CFDT, through the Institut Belleville launched a project to strenghten ownership and to help trade unions in countries most vulnerable to climate change, move towards a just transition (read the adjacent text box). By becoming actors for adaptation for climate change, trade unions will help reduce the number of people who are vulnerable to climatic, food and financial crises. It is a question of developing a vision based on trade union needs, knowledge and experience.

MARTINE ROY “Moving towards a different economic model”

Lora Verheecke, ITUC policy advisor on the environment and health and safety at work talks about “just transition” and the cooperation between the ITUC and the Institut Belleville.

How does the ITUC deal with climate change?

Climate change is not an isolated phenomenon. In the ITUC’s opinion, it is the result of an unjust economic model, incapable of providing decent work and a decent life to millions of people. The solution is a “just transition” towards a different economic model.

What is just transition?

It is the assurance that political decisions to reduce GHG emissions (greenhouse gas emissions) and to deal with the consequences of climate change will be taken in conjunction with workers, thereby contributing to the creation of green and decent jobs and the eradication of poverty. The just transition framework consists of five pillars: investments, education, social dialogue and democracy, social protection and information. The first injustice of climate change is that its consequences are suffered by those who did not cause it. That is why we are focusing on the least developed countries.

Which trade unions are involved in the project?

We are working closely with the Sierra Leone Labour Congress. During climate negotiations in Bonn, on the 10 June, we presented our project with two trade unionists from Sierra Leone. Furthermore we are organising a national internal debate in Freetown on the 11 and 12 July. This will consist of two phases: a training phase on climate change followed by a debate on just transition in the most vulnerable countries to gather as much information as possible about trade union concerns in these countries.

Work is in progress and we hope to be able to organise other national debates so that a just transition becomes a reality. I would like to thank the CFDT and the Institut Belleville without whose help this project could not have been completed.

INTERVIEW BY MARTINE ROY

The Institut Belleville’s involvement in the just transition project
The Institut Belleville brings financial, operational and political support on three levels:

• research and identification of actors;

• organisation of a national debate on the research results;

• organisation of a side event to a conference on climate change.
In addition to following up actions throughout the project, the Institut Belleville was the principal organiser in the last phase of the project organising the Bonn conference dedicated to an exchange of experiences between the project’s participants.

Following the work carried out in Sierra Leone, a report will be produced to identify the project’s contributions so that it can be extended to other vulnerable countries.