AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council Director Bob Baugh, a member of a global union delegation led by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), sends us the first report on the new round of United Nations climate change negotiations taking place now in?Durban, South Africa.
The 17th annual meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) opened in Durban with a speech by South African President Jacob Zuma that stressed the need for dialogue, green jobs and investment.?As trade unionists, we?are here in force to ensure that these goals are met and?that any climate agreement includes?workers? voice.? ?
At COP 16, unions made a breakthrough by getting language about a Just Transition, a social and economic perspective on investment in good jobs and decent work, adopted as a part of the Long Term Cooperative Agreement. Now we are here to breathe life into that language.?Our primary focus will be on finance, workers? skills and accountability for meeting Just Transition goals.
Sustained investment is critical to a sustainable future. The AFL-CIO strongly supports the enactment of?a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) in the United States and in other nations as a means of providing a steady, secure source of funds to domestic and international climate investment needs.? A very small tax on financial transactions (between 0.02 percent?and 0.05 percent) could raise $650 billion a year globally. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has worked closely with the ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow in pursing this goal in the most recent round G20 talks. Nations must ensure that a portion of the revenue goes to development and climate finance.
The Just Transition language we achieved in Cancun needs further guidance on how to mainstream that mandate in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) decisions. This means incorporating the world of work in other elements of the agreement, such as the role of social protection in the work of the Adaptation Committee and skills development in the work of the Technology Centers.?There also must be accountability by giving a mandate to the International Labor Organization (ILO) to work on the implementation of that decision. The ILO can help ensure?that progress being made in meeting the economic and social goals of a Just Transition.
As trade unionists, we understand the bargaining process and this is the next round of negotiations. Cancun got us a seat at the table. In the coming days, we will?meet with governments and engage in public actions for the FTT. This is the work of securing the fairness, justice, investment and workers? rights needed for a Just Transition.
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Source: http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/11/29/climate-change-talks-need-to-address-investing-in-good-jobs/
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