Trade union delegates at the Paris COP21 joined with others today to protest about the threat to human rights. This includes the rights of indigenous peoples, gender equality, intergenerational equity, a just transition, food security and the integrity…Read more…
#COP21: UK austerity out of step with Paris climate talks
The French Presidency has finally got to grips with the UN climate negotiations, setting up a Paris Committee aiming to conclude all outstanding matters by 6pm on Thursday. All further negotiations will be closed and focused on brokering deals, includi…Read more…
#COP21: Put just transition back into UN climate treaty
This morning at the Paris climate change conference the UN has released a further draft text, which as we had feared places references to Just Transition of the workforce and the ILO principle of decent work in the relegation zone. It seems clear from …Read more…
#COP21: UN accused of washing its hands of labour and human rights in Paris Treaty
The ITUC joined a block of five leading human rights bodies here at a press conference at COP21, in a call to the UN to put peoples’ rights back into the draft Paris Treaty on climate change. The rights organisations have brought together their networks from around the world to support the…Read more…
EU must back Just Transition in Paris Treaty, not drop it
As trade unionist from across the world gather together at the COP21 climate change talks in Paris, we are all too aware of the various attempts being made to downplay the rights of workers in any prospective agreement. It is clear from the outset that…Read more…
#COP21: Cameron divests from our future
Here in Paris there is a sense of disbelief that David Cameron has scrapped a £1 billion green infrastructure investment in the shape of the UK’s programme for carbon capture and storage (CCS). Projects at White Rose, Yorkshire, and Peterhead, Scotland, were set to be the star turn at a major event…Read more…
#COP21: what the climate talks could mean for UK workers
This is it – 20 years of negotiations, millions of marchers across the globe*, and hundreds of thousands of campaigns, petitions, and protests have culminated in a deafening message at the 21st UN Climate Summit: there is no planet B. All of mankind has a stake in these negotiations – and in…Read more…
Whatever happens, this cannot be the end for carbon capture in the UK
This week saw the UK’s darkest day so far for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). At the CCSA, we and our members in the industry are still in shock. The same words keep repeating themselves; devastated, sad, bewildered. The question; Why? And why now? Amazingly, two days on the silence from…Read more…
How legal challenges and green workplaces can tackle climate change
Canada is tapping the expertise of UK unions in a project that will put unions at the heart of efforts to green workplaces. Earlier this month, I was invited to spend a weekend in Toronto to share my UK experiences with a Canadian green workplace proje…Read more…
Joining the TU bloc for Sunday’s march for Climate, Jobs and Justice
The trade union bloc on Sunday’s march for Climate, Jobs and Justice looks to be heading towards a 7,000-strong voice and rising. It’s no accident that Jobs for a low carbon future is a one of the three core demands of Sunday’s march – with the Chancellor’s cuts to…Read more…
Paris climate demos cancelled – join the marches in the UK
Demonstrations and marches cancelled after Paris attacks
The article Paris climate demos cancelled – join the marches in the UK first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…
“Energy security and affordability” bump climate change into third place
When respected commentator Prof Paul Ekins describes the government’s energy “reset” as, “Lose-lose, for the consumer and for the climate. What a shambles!” we had better listen. Phasing out unabated coal maybe the right thing to do, as the TUC said today. But an untested “dash for gas”…Read more…
Greenprint for a low carbon industrial strategy
The “perfect storm” hitting the steel industry has cost up to 10,000 jobs in the North East alone, directly or as consequence of steel plant closures. The Chancellor’s Spending Review on 25 November is likely to make matters worse, with expected staffing and research budgets cut by 25% to 40% at…Read more…
Let’s not fry the planet to oblivion
The monsoon rain that hit Scotland in recent days should be a stark reminder that we need to take responsibility for climate change. As today’s Scotsman editorial elegantly puts it; “It’s time we…Read more…
OECD wants “cool policies” to tackle climate change and stimulate growth
With evidence that for the first time, global temperature increases are now halfway towards the threshold of dangerous climate change, the OECD has called for government-led investment strategies and stronger regulatory frameworks to tackle climate change. Its effects “may otherwise not be…Read more…
Timely call for stewards at Peoples’ March for Climate, Justice and Jobs
The brilliant team organising the national climate demonstration in London on 29/11 has issued an urgent appeal for more stewards here, just as the UN warns that government pledges ahead of the Paris Treaty negotiations cannot prevent dangerous climate…Read more…
Winter blackouts, industry knockouts
The National Grid is advising manufacturers to make plans for electricity blackouts. Hardly helpful to our energy intensive industries like steel and paper making already under pressure, and with manufacturing output falling for its third consecutive quarter. The grid’s 2015/16 Winter Outlook…Read more…
Weak Paris treaty will mean “job losses and development crisis”
Trade union demands for the principles of a just transition and decent work have made it into the last draft of the Paris climate change treaty before the final round of talks begin in earnest on 30 November. But there’s still a huge gap between national pledges to cut their carbon emissions and…Read more…
Solar industry fears “systematic dismantling of UK renewable energy policy”
The solar power industry has challenged the government to support a three year survival plan which will add just £1 a year to consumers’ energy bills and save most of the 27,000 jobs now at risk from government cuts. It rejects the government’s claim to be helping “hard working…Read more…
March for the climate, justice and jobs in November
Dave Prentis urges members to marchin London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast ahead of UN climate change talks
The article March for the climate, justice and jobs in November first appeared on the…Read more…