12 July, 2011Building a sustainable financial scheme for a Just Transition will be the key for the 17th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) in December in Durban. Promoting a Financial Transaction Tax would be a solution.
GLOBAL: Last December in Cancun, the international trade union movement led by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) with a considerable effort managed to insert the concept of Just Transition in the final text of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP16). After COP16, a sustainable financial scheme for realizing Just Transition has become a central discussion theme.
On June 6-17, Climate Change Talks took place in Bonn, Germany, in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The parties could not agree on a new, legally-binding framework covering all countries by the coming COP17 in Durban. There seems, however, to be a possibility to agree on a second commitment period (from 2013) of the Kyoto Protocol as a transitional phase. In any case, Just Transition-creating sustainable jobs with a strong financing scheme will be an indispensable element to enable all countries (especially developing countries) to commit to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
At COP16, countries agreed to establish a Green Climate Fund to support the implementation of Just Transition. Its funding is, however, still under debate. The fund depends on voluntary commitments from governments which today face grave financial difficulties. To overcome the problem, the ITUC, together with a wide range of economists and NGOs, has been calling for a tax on financial transactions to support a Just Transition, including job creation and global programs for the least developed countries.
COP17 is preceded by a series of key meetings:
On June 6-17, Climate Change Talks took place in Bonn, Germany, in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The parties could not agree on a new, legally-binding framework covering all countries by the coming COP17 in Durban. There seems, however, to be a possibility to agree on a second commitment period (from 2013) of the Kyoto Protocol as a transitional phase. In any case, Just Transition-creating sustainable jobs with a strong financing scheme will be an indispensable element to enable all countries (especially developing countries) to commit to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
At COP16, countries agreed to establish a Green Climate Fund to support the implementation of Just Transition. Its funding is, however, still under debate. The fund depends on voluntary commitments from governments which today face grave financial difficulties. To overcome the problem, the ITUC, together with a wide range of economists and NGOs, has been calling for a tax on financial transactions to support a Just Transition, including job creation and global programs for the least developed countries.
COP17 is preceded by a series of key meetings:
- First week of October: UNFCCC session in Panama
- October 24-25: 2nd ITUC/GURN/ACTRAV research workshop, focusing on working conditions in green sectors, collective bargaining on environment and green taxation in Brussels Belgium
- November 28 - December 9: COP17 in Durban, South Africa (ITUC will organize the World of Work pavilion.)
More information on recent and ongoing negotiations:
ITUC http://www.ituc-csi.org/climate-change.html and http://www.ituc-csi.org/climate-change-and-green-economy.html.
UNFCCC: http://unfccc.int/2860.php.
IMF will support the international trade union movement led by ITUC and continue to promote a just transition with concrete policies for green technology innovation and a sustainable fund securing the future for workers.