U.N. Climate Change Programs Must Be Funded

Roger Toussaint, president of TWU Local 100.

Roger Toussaint, president of Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 in New York City, was in Poznan, Poland, for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which concluded Dec. 12. Toussaint, who was among 100 union delegates, offers his observations on the 12-day event held to build upon the framework negotiated last year in Bali, Indonesia. Read the full series of posts here.

This event brings us one step closer to the eventual adoption of a new treaty (the successor to the Kyoto Protocol) to be signed in Copenhagen in 2009. While many of participants in the trade union delegation attended the climate change negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, in 2007, the expansion and diversification of the delegation continues. This year’s broad representation includes both AFL-CIO and Change to Win affiliates, such as AFSCME, ATU, IUE-CWA, IBB, IBEW, SEIU, TWU, USW, Utility Workers, UMWA and the Industrial Union Council. 

This increased participation reflects a complicated and diverse range of issues affecting union members. These issues include potential job losses due to possible carbon-mitigation efforts in an economy already in recession, increasing asthma rates for members in low-wage industries who tend to live in areas with poor air quality, and the retooling of different industrial sectors that will ultimately provide new employment opportunities for some industrial unions.

In general, the growing trade union participation in these climate change discussions shows the tremendous opportunities for industrial and nonindustrial unions alike as the growth of “green jobs” is likely to explode as we move toward a greening of our economy.  To be specific, green jobs must not just reduce our greenhouse gas emissions but must also promote pathways out of poverty, provide a living wage, ensure health and safety standards, and provide workers the right to union representation.

TWU’s involvement in climate change negotiations is driven in part by the importance of public transportation in combating climate change. Given that the transportation sector accounts for about a quarter of total global greenhouse gas emissions—increasingly from private vehicles—the expanded use of mass transit can significantly decrease carbon emissions. This does not mean, however, that there are quick solutions. In the United States, the current lack of public investment in our mass transit infrastructure leaves only one in five Americans with access to transit close to both home and work.

If transit is really to be part of the solution to climate change, there needs to be a significant shift in public policy to promote its use. Sustainable transport not only has the potential to stabilize the climate, it can serve as the economic engine for developed and developing countries alike, and improve the lives of working people through creation of decent, green jobs.

We are in a race against time, and emission-reduction policies were required yesterday. The clock is ticking, and the challenge facing some regions of the world is one of survival. The impact of climate change is such that the majority of natural disasters occur in the global South, where many of the economies are largely dependent on agriculture. This causes food and water shortages, coastal inundations, the spread of diseases and much more.

Thus, there is a pressing need to implement adaptation programs—programs that address and tackle impacts of climate change that are already being felt. It is imperative to ensure that the programs are sufficiently funded under the U.N. system to be effective.

Below is my speech from the closing plenary for the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) calling for an increase in funding for adaptation programs, in particular for programs in the global South. SBSTA is a U.N. program that is charged with assessing the impact of climate change and identifying appropriate adaptation actions and measures.

United Nations Conference on Climate Change

Conference of Parties 14 (COP-14)

Poznan, Poland

December 10, 2008

Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice Plenary Session

On Behalf of the International Trade Union Confederation

Remarks by Roger Toussaint, President, TWU Local 100

“Thank you Madame Chair,

“My name is Roger Toussaint, here on behalf of the International Trade Union Confederation representing affiliates that embrace168 million workers worldwide. I am also president of Transport Workers Union Local 100 in New York City representing 38,000 bus and subway workers there.

“Our trade unions wish to address the climate crisis in ways that provide decent employment with livable wages, especially in parts of world that need it most.  According to the International Labor Organization, one in three workers are either unemployed or underemployed, and mostly in the global South. This situation will only deteriorate with the current economic crisis.

“Fully-funded adaptation programs can create decent work that offers both social and environmental benefits.  Public works programs in coastal defense, flood prevention, and sustainable agriculture can provide jobs while addressing climate change.

“More than ever before, many members of our unions, my own included, are from countries that over the years failed to create decent employment opportunities. Today, climate change drives workers away from their homes in a desperate and dangerous search for work.  Adaptation programs can create jobs, raise income levels, put food on the table, send children to school and help build stable communities. They must also include social protections so that communities can indeed adapt.

“The International Trade Union Confederation calls for adequate and dedicated financial resources and guidelines for adaptation.  Ironically, 95 percent of adaptation spending occurs in rich countries, according to the United Nations Development Program. This must be corrected.  We urge you to ensure that the new treaty contains the sufficient financial resources to meet the adaptation challenges facing countries all over the world, in particular the global South.

“Thank you again, Madame Chair.”

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