Transcript Climate change, employment and trade unions

Climate change, employment,
UNFCCC and trade unions
Climate change
• Consequence of human-driven concentrations of
greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere,
mainly from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas),
forest loss and agriculture methods (release
methane)
• Long lived nature of emissions lead to
concentrations during long periods (hundreds of
years for CO2 for ex) Depending on
concentrations, scientists calculate potential for
temperature increase
Where are emissions coming from?
Changes in climate already
happening
• Global average temperatures have already
increased by 0.8°C. Current pathway is heading
towards 4°C-6°C (reference: the one which
enabled human beings develop and the ice age
was just 5°C)…
• Impacts are already being witnessed: rainfall
patterns, heatwaves, increased severity of
weather events (floods, droughts, cyclones) , all
with a heavy economic and human toll.
Climate change and employment
• For regions at the frontlines of impacts, climate is
already affecting employment.
• Jobs in agriculture, fisheries, tourism hardly hit,
but also services and infrastructures which affect
the whole economy.
• Hurricane Sandy (US) 150,000 workers displaced
and 11,000 jobs disappeared in New Jersey alone
in 2012. Cyclone Sidr (Bangladesh) adversely
affected 567,000 jobs. Typhoon Hagupit
(Philippines) affected around 800,000 workers.
Climate change and employment
(II)
• The solution to the problem can not be anything
else than to stop the sources of pollution.
• Around 7 million workers are today employed by
the fossil fuel industry worldwide. And many
more in indirect jobs related to the sector.
• Important numbers of workers are also in the
forestry sector, whose sustainability is far from
being on track.
• The challenges for employment of moving
towards a zero emission economy are huge.
Climate change and employment
(III)
Good news is that investments aiming at supplying
citizens with renewable energy, in making their homes
and workplaces more energy efficient, in providing
mass transit options in cities, or in using forests and
water resources more sustainably generate ALL more
jobs than investments in doing business as usual’.
Other important linkages
Climate change also connects to other issues that
are key for the union movement:
• Climate impacts increase inequalities
• Costs of recovery from disasters harm public
budgets and make it difficult to fund social
protection, education or other public services
• Some emissions are also heavy air pollutants,
which cause asthma and other respiratory
diseases in urban areas. Addressing both will
have then positive immediate and future effects
What are unions doing
At different levels, and in very different contexts, unions are
joining many calling for climate justice. How?
• Calling on governments to set the right policies: (Renewable
Energy, Energy Efficiency and Emission reduction targets; job
creation targets; limits to deforestation; promotion of organic
agriculture, public transit; phase out of subsidies to oil
companies; moratorium on polluting projects)
• Promoting the implementation of Just Transition strategies
(investment with DW; anticipation; social protection; skills;
active labour market policies; local strategies)
• Calling on their companies for the right of workers to know
how employers will reach a zero emission objective
• Promoting savings at the workplace level
Global problems need global
responses
Climate change is regulated by a UN Convention
(UNFCCC) which almost every country in the world
ratified committing to reduce emissions that caused
the problem.
In a protocol which entered into force in 1997 (the
Kyoto Protocol) industrialised countries took
commitments to reduce 5% of emissions by 2012.
Since then, developed country govs, notably US
have aimed at ensuring that the new commitments
incorporate actions by all countries –in particular
emerging economies-.
Some graphs
Some graphs
Some graphs II
Some graphs II
The context of climate negotiations
• Most of the promises of funding, technology transfer and
support have not been realised. Mistrust + power of status
quo defendant
• Efforts to reduce emissions have been marginal. Most of
reductions have been result of economic crisis, not deliberate
policies.
• After several years of negotiations, it looks like governments
will agree on a new framework for climate action in Paris in
December. But ambition is far from the level needed.
What do we want, what can we
expect
What we are asking
What is being proposed
Urgent action before 2020 to close the emissions gap + a
mechanism for increasing ambition overtime
Voluntary pledges to be implemented after 2020
Clear roadmap for reaching the 100bn USD/year commitment on
climate finance
…
Commitment from governments to secure a Just Transition with
decent work opportunities for workers affected by change
Mention in danger
No to false solutions (geoengineering; Use of markets for
handling agriculture or forestry emissions)
Bad options still at the table
A “soft” mechanism for assessing national actions
A platform for other actors to take commitments
Unless mobilisation grows at the country level, governments, in particular those
the most responsible, will not feel compelled to act.
Solutions will only come from changes on
the ground Unions4Climate
• Unions at the national, sectoral and local level hold the
key for changing the political landscape on these issues
• By connecting climate to the issues people care about
(energy, water, air pollution, food, transport…) we can
weigh at the political debate at a time where we can
still prevent the worst from happening
Thank you!
[email protected]
@sustainnlabour
@lauramm_sl
#unions4climate