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21 December, 2011Although no legally-binding agreement could be reached at COP17, countries officially met one of the industrial workers' demands, the creation of a Green Climate Fund. The workers now need to influence the design of the fund.
GLOBAL: The 17th conference of the parties (COP17) to the UN framework convention on climate change took place in Durban, South Africa, from November 28 to December 9, 2011. Again, the negotiators could not reach an ambitious, fair, and legally-binding agreement on greenhouse gases during the two week long negotiations, and they postponed dealing with serious issues which will impact heavily on future generations. On December 12 ITUC, who had led the international trade union action during COP17, expressed its disappointment, as climate negotiators in Durban agreed on a platform to continue negotiations but without any guarantees that the cuts to emissions needed to stop a climate disaster will be made.
See related articles:
ITUC online: http://www.ituc-csi.org/durban-outcome-no-guarantees-for.html.
IMF Africa Region: http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?c=28430&l=2.
As representing workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, paper, rubber, textiles, materials, and related sectors, the IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF have been jointly promoting the following demands:
- that the negotiators reach an ambitious, fair, and legally-binding agreement on greenhouse gases at COP;
- that funds, such as in the Green Climate Fund launched according to the Copenhagen Accord, are made available to trade unions for vocational and educational purposes as part of the broader principle of Just Transition.
No legally-binding agreement could be reached at COP17, but countries officially met one of the industrial workers' demands, the creation of a Green Climate Fund.
See Decision adopted by COP17 "Launching of the Green Climate Fund" http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/durban_nov_2011/decisions/application/pdf/cop17_gcf.pdf.
The fund now has a formal structure. In order to promote sustainable jobs and a Just Transition, the industrial workers now need to influence the board members of the fund, who will design the crucial "100 billion" scheme. IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF will continue to focus on the common industrial policies which aim towards sustainable production, the transformation and enhancement of existing jobs, and the creation of new, greener jobs that are needed at local, national, regional and international levels.