The annual climate summit took place in the United Arab Emirates between 30 November and 13 December. This year, the 'Conference of the Parties' (COP), met for the 28th time to arrive at a global climate strategy and trade unions cannot of course be left out of these discussions. We would therefore like to thank our partners who attended the COP. Together, they campaigned for a prominent role for trade unions in a fair energy transition!
Despite the differences in backgrounds, membership numbers and geographical locations, the message from our partners present at COP28 was essentially the same: involve unions in making climate plans! They believe an energy transition can only really be fair if workers’ interests are represented.
To make this point, DJ Pohl (NUPGE, Canada) and Dan Sherrell (ACTU, Australia), delivered a clear speech on behalf of the ITUC to underline the importance of the workers in a fair energy transition.
The ITUC welcomes the inclusion of references to labour rights and social protection in the Just Transition Work Programme adopted at the COP28 climate negotiations, and acknowledges the continuing work undertaken by trade unions around the world to tackle climate change. Nevertheless, the absence of any reference to workers and their unions in the key COP28 “Global Stocktake”, which tracks progress in countries around the world, is a significant omission and indicates the scale of the work required to ensure its inclusion in the coming years. Read the ITUC’s full statement here.
The following action points were submitted to the national governments by BWI:
In the words of BWI General Secretary Ambet E. Yuson: " Workers need to be part of the solutions. They will build the homes and infrastructure needed to achieve the emission reductions commitments in the Paris Agreement. Without workers and their trade unions at the table, there is no guarantee that initiatives for a low-carbon and resilient world will ensure justice for the most vulnerable communities of workers, and not just profits for the wealthy few."
Trade unions were also present in Dubai at national level.
In Dubai the FNV was represented by Bas van Weegbergen. He was working at the climate summit together with Colombian, Nigerian and Somali trade union federations and affirmed the importance of international solidarity. The statement was clear: "a just transition to an economy within planetary boundaries is not possible without workers".
From Somalia, Omar Faruk spoke on behalf of the national trade union federation FESTU. Earlier this year, FESTU achieved great success, by ensuring that trade unions will be closely involved in drafting national climate legislation in the future. At the COP, FESTU advocated the involvement of social stakeholders in the energy transition and contended that a fair transition is only 'fair' if labour rights are kept high on the agenda of policymakers.
The Netherlands 🇳🇱 trade union @FNV and Somalia 🇸🇴 counterpart @festusomalia join forces at #COP28 to champion climate justice! 🤝 With vital support from @FNVMondiaal, FESTU is driving remarkable progress toward a just transition in climate action. Together, we're shaping a… pic.twitter.com/GkdX5EsdLC
— Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU) (@festusomalia) December 4, 2023
At the start of the COP, Global People's Caravan organised a petition and march, to draw attention to the importance of the effects of climate on the agricultural industry. Our partner from India, NAAWU with members active in agriculture, fisheries and forestry, was one of the initiators. They put forward 5 key points for the world leaders at the climate summit, namely:
From South America, Colombia was represented by members of the Just Transition Research Observatory CIPAME. Cipame organised a number of webinars to highlight the importance of workers in a fair energy transition and were supported by trade union leaders from the major energy sectors in the country: electricity, oil and coal.
Igor Diaz Lopez of SINTRACARBON (the mining union) spoke in Dubai on behalf of its members. He drew attention to the fact that, in a fair energy transition, jobs in the sectors will also change, and a plan needs to be drawn up for the workers working in the fossil energy sector.
Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), says that the organisation will ensure that social safety nets and insurance policies are provided for workers who may lose their jobs in the face of the global energy transition. " However, in anticipation of the transition, as representatives of workers’ organisations, we will make provisions for social safety nets, pension schemes and insurance policies for people who may lose their jobs."
As the world begins the move away from fossil fuels, there have been calls for a ‘just transition‘ that leaves no one behind, including persons who work in fossil fuel companies, and whose jobs might be affected. At the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, the NLC organised a side event with the theme: ‘Justice for Workers in the Just Transition’, aimed at pushing for the rights of workers as talks to move to cleaner energy gain momentum globally. Read here NLC’s whole statement.
In addition to the national trade union, the Coalition for Socio-Ecological Transformation from Nigeria CoSET was also present in the United Arab Emirates. They presented the following action points for a fair climate transition in the Nigerian context:
We are proud of our partners, who have spoken out at the annual climate summit on behalf of the global trade union movement. We, as Mondiaal FNV, endorse the need for global climate legislation. But the transition to a cleaner world must not be at the expense of workers and is only fair and equitable if they actually get a seat at the table where the decisions are made.