The Paris Agreement that was finalised on 12 December (pdf) has had a mixed reception. For some, it is an historic document that will keep global warming in check. For others, it will deliver too little too late. Without repeating all of the arguments here, this post is intended to just focus on what it…
None of the four strands of climate justice – research, education, training and public awareness – have made the headlines at COP21, yet the conference “fringe” has been full of such debates. Whatever the final UN Agreement looks like, there will need to be an operational strategy that shifts general references to ‘research, education, training and…
Trade union delegates at the Paris COP21 joined with others today to protest about the threat to human rights. This includes the rights of indigenous peoples, gender equality, intergenerational equity, a just transition, food security and the integrity of ecosystems. Norway and the USA have been prominent in trying to remove these references from Article…
There were so many ideas to take away from Naomi Klein’s inspiring address to a meeting of trade unionists at Congress House on Tuesday night. She highlighted how the neo-liberal agenda has placed us in a position where only radical action will provide any hope of keeping to the 2 degree limit in global temperature…
We can’t afford to waste another year stalling on the framework for a climate agreement. You’d think that the conclusions of the latest IPCC report coupled with Typhoon Haiyan would be a wake-up call to the world’s governments. But not it seems for Poland, Japan and Australia. When the host country uses the Presidency of…
The OECD has called for the “complete elimination of emissions to the atmosphere from the combination of fossil fuels in the second half of the century”. Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, made the call at the LSE’s Grantham Institute on Climate Change last week, warning that “we are…
Education has a key role to play in avoiding runaway climate change and achieving a low carbon economy. Over 80% of students believe sustainable development should be actively promoted and incorporated by UK universities, according to the University and Colleges Union (UCU) in its latest Annual Environment Report. It comes as a landmark assessment by…
The first week of the International Labour Conference has concluded with all sides – government, employers and workers – stressing the importance of sustainable development. The executive summary of the report ‘Sustainable development, decent work and green jobs’ makes it clear that: “The environment and social development must no longer be treated as separate pillars…
The Business Secretary Vince Cable, now persuaded of an “active” role for government in industrial policy, would do well to pick up the issue of skills for a low carbon economy. There is no obvious green skills plan. Unemployment is at a 17-year high, but as the union-led Green Skills Manifesto argues: “The current reliance…