U.N. Climate Change Programs Must Be Funded
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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.
Reflections on U.N. Climate Change Conference in Poznan
Jon Forster, first vice president of AFSCME Local 375/DC37 in New York, was in Poznan, Poland, for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which concluded Dec. 12. Forster, 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.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Poznan, Poland, provided an important opportunity for trade unions to be present and weigh in on critical climate change issues. As a public service union, AFSCME was able to bring some different perspectives, and a different set of experiences to the table. Working within the meetings convened by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the AFL-CIO, it was exciting to hear the different viewpoints brought by other trade unions from around the world, including Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Japan, Australia, Poland, India, Egypt, Russia, Kenya, Germany, France, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Canada, among others.
Following the ‘Green Jobs’ Road from Bali to Poznan
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Bob Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council and co-chair of the AFL-CIO Energy Task Force, is in Poznan, Poland, for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
The meeting, which was scheduled to conclude Dec. 12, is building upon the framework negotiated last year in Bali, Indonesia, and includes nearly 100 union delegates.
What a difference a year can make.
Poznan is not Bali, nor were these meetings meant to be. As Harlan Watson, the chief U.S. negotiator, told our delegation:
This year is a way station between the Bali framework and the drive to a final agreement in Copenhagen.
What this round of talks will look for is a statement that shows some progress. There are also indications that major advanced developing economies such as China, South Korea, Brazil and others are, for the first time, identifying measurable steps for climate change mitigation, but financing will be a major issue. Major negotiating papers are scheduled for March and June meetings.
Climate Change: Opportunity and Responsibility
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Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Vice President Ron Heintzman is among union delegates taking part in the 12-day United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Poznan, Poland. The meeting is building upon the framework negotiated last year in Bali, Indonesia. Of the nearly 100 union delegates, Heintzman is among the more than 20 from North America and sends us this report.
Prior to attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland, my knowledge and understanding of the subject was limited. Like many of our members, I could see and feel our climate changing, associating it with the frequently used term “global warming.” I quickly learned that climate change and global warming were not one in the same. I also had little understanding of how encompassing and important the issue is and how it impacts nearly every aspect of our daily lives, now and much more so in the future.
‘Just Transition’: More than Buzz Words
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Lauren Asplen, assistant to the president for IUE-CWA, is among union delegates taking part in the 12-day United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Poznan, Poland. The meeting is building upon the framework negotiated last year in Bali, Indonesia. Of the nearly 100 union delegates, Asplen is among the more than 20 from North America and sends us this report.
The tug of war in the climate change debate is between how and how fast to mitigate the impact of global warming—i.e., between potential energy sources and emission reduction targets. However, within that overarching question, there are a myriad of issues that brought some 8,000 delegates and observers to the United Nations climate meeting in Poznan, Poland. One stands out as critical to union members, yet it has not received much attention. That issue is what’s termed a “just transition” for workers.
In trade union policy meetings and in the U.N. conference, it is clear that few agree on what a just transition encompasses. Among those who even discuss the concept, the debate often focuses on how much money should go into a fund to help workers in developing countries achieve a sustainable economy and adapt to the impact of climate change.
What’s the Timeline for Reducing Greenhouse Emissions?
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Roxanne D. Brown, assistant legislative director of the United Steelworkers (USW), is among union delegates taking part in the 12-day United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Poznan, Poland. The meeting is building upon the framework negotiated last year in Bali, Indonesia. Of the nearly 100 union delegates, Brown is among the more than 20 from North America and sends us this report.
What Comes First?
That’s the question everyone is asking in Poznan, Poland. Does the United States take actions to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by passing legislation in 2009, or do we wait for a new international agreement on climate change to be finalized in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the end of 2009? It’s the classic chicken and egg question. Which should precede the other? Which is most necessary to occur first? Like the chicken and egg question, no one has an answer (or at least a real good one), but one thing is clear: All eyes are on the United States.
Climate Change Targets or Climate Change Actions?
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Jim Hunter, Utility Division director at the Electrical Workers (IBEW), is among union delegates taking part in the 12-day United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Poznan, Poland. The meeting is building upon the framework negotiated last year in Bali, Indonesia. Of the nearly 100 union delegates, Hunter is among the more than 20 from North America and sends us this report.
This is my first climate change conference and it is truly overwhelming. The labor delegation started with training sessions Dec. 3–4, with the conference opening the afternoon of Dec. 4. The first thing that hits you is the enormous size of the buildings for the meetings. You need a map to find your way around the complex. The daily program is 37 two-sided pages long. There are meetings, press briefings, briefings of ministers and heads of the delegations and side events every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Massive amounts of information are presented, and we need to work hard to convey labor’s point of view.
Poznan Perspectives and Aspirations
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Bob Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council and co-chair of the AFL-CIO Energy Task Force, updates us on the 12-day United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Poznan, Poland. This ministerial meeting will build upon the framework negotiated in Bali, Indonesia, a year ago. Of the nearly 100 union delegates, more than 20 are from North America.
Thomas is a Poznan cab driver who speaks excellent English. As he drove us to our hotel in the outer suburbs, we had a fascinating conversation about the world economic crisis, his birth on a commune in 1982, the genesis of solidarity and democracy in Poland, and the fall of the Iron Curtain when he was a child. He spoke with eloquence and insight. He also told me about the degree in economics he had earned last year from one of the 14 universities located in this city.
When I asked about his being a cab driver, he said:
You take the best-paying job you can get.
U.N. Climate Change Conference: Union Activists Key to Greening the Globe
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David Foster, executive director of the Blue Green Alliance (BGA), sends us an update from the 12-day U.N. Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Poznan, Poland. Some 8,000 delegates and observers from around the world are meeting to build upon the framework negotiated last year in Bali, Indonesia. The Blue Green Alliance is a strategic partnership of U.S. labor unions and environmental organizations dedicated to expanding the green economy. The BGA is composed of the United Steelworkers, Sierra Club, Communications Workers of America, Natural Resources Defense Council and SEIU.
Walking a gauntlet of young civil society delegates to the UNCCC meeting in this ancient city, I couldn’t help but feel a profound disconnect between the plunging expectations of working people around the world at the end of 2008 and the tepid rhetoric of government delegates at the official “Shared Vision” workshop. This workshop was designed specifically to provide a public opportunity to government representatives to inspire us to embrace change.
AFL-CIO Unions in Poland for U.N. Climate Change Conference
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Some 8,000 delegates and observers from around the world are gathered in Poznan, Poland, for the 12-day United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC). This ministerial meeting will build upon the framework negotiated in Bali, Indonesia, a year ago. Of the nearly 100 union delegates, more than 20 are from North America, including Bob Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council and co-chair of the AFL-CIO Energy Task Force. Baugh sends us the first of a series of posts by members of the labor delegation.
The December 2007 climate change meeting in Bali marked the first time the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) achieved nongovernmental organization (NGO) status for the ongoing climate change negotiations.
With NGO status, ITUC representatives were recognized as official delegates and could participate directly in key working sessions of the conference. The Bali meetings helped put a negotiating framework in place for developing a new set of strategies to replace the current agreement on reducing global warming—known as the Kyoto Protocol—which expires in 2012. The target for achieving a new international agreement is 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
