Slowly climbing a slippery slope: Trade unions at COP
This piece is a reflection on the role of the trade union movement in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process, including its annual Conference of the Parties (COP). I write it as someone who has been engaging in COPs as part of the global trade union delegation for...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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McMaster University Library Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Global Labour Journal |
| Online Access: | https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/6082 |
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| Summary: | This piece is a reflection on the role of the trade union movement in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process, including its annual Conference of the Parties (COP). I write it as someone who has been engaging in COPs as part of the global trade union delegation for the past four years. And it’s important to stress: for the labour movement, climate action is not reducible to the UNFCCC. Whatever trade unions decide to do or not do inside the COP process, there is an enormous need for climate activism in a range of other spaces, from the workplace to national politics.
That being said, I will argue that trade unions should continue to engage in COPs, as it is a key forum where the new climate economy is being shaped. Although I recognise the many failings and structural weaknesses of the COP process, with Brazil taking up the COP30 Presidency this year, this would be a bad time to withdraw from it.
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| ISSN: | 1918-6711 |