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Agreement on 'Just Transition' hailed as a breakthrough worth celebrating for the moment.
Ottawa (13 Dec. 2010) - Trade unions have welcomed the final agreement reached at the United Nations (UN) climate conference in Cancun.
The deal acknowledges union demands for a "Just Transition" while climate change policies are implemented.
However, support for the agreement is tempered by a strong demand that all governments – particularly those in the most developed countries – raise their climate action targets in time for their next meeting in Durban, South Africa, next year.
The government of Bolivia harshly criticized the summit deal on Friday, complaining that it strays too far from Kyoto principles, does not go far enough in cutting emissions and relies too heavily on the marketplace to drive innovation and emission reductions.
Environmental, social justice and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) agreed that Bolivia was right to remind the world of the urgency of the climate crisis and the impact that hundreds of millions of people are already suffering.
There is a huge gap between what countries are committing to do and what science says we need to do and this needs to be at the centre of these negotiations, the groups believe.
“In particular, we want developed countries to commit to ambitious emission reductions under a legally binding framework," says Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
"Climate finance needs to respond to the needs of the poorest of the world. Millions of workers and their families face destruction of their lands and livelihoods from extreme weather events and some 220 million are unemployed and desperate for a secure, decent and green job.”
Trade unions particularly welcome references in the text to "Just Transition" which is intended to ensure decent work and good quality jobs, a crucial concept for building workers' support for climate action.
“At the same time, governments must raise the level of ambition,” says Burrow.
“They must return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and rectify the imbalances and omissions following Cancun. Durban must be the destination for serious climate action with a fair, ambitious and binding agreement and a commitment to 'Just Transition' must sit at the heart of this.”
Overall, trade unions believe progress made at these talks is substantial and takes the world one step closer to closing that gap.
Meanwhile, it is up to Canadians to ensure that the Harper government in Ottawa takes strong action at home and attends the next negotiations with the political will that will be critical to solving the climate crisis.
As a footnote to the summit, Canada won yet another 'Fossil' award as the talks came to a close. This followed a series of earlier 'awards' bestowed on Environment Minister John Baird and the Harper government.
"In 'Fossil' terms, today’s winning country is building a dynasty," says a news release issued by representatives of some 400 organizations casting votes on the awards.
"2010’s 'Colossal Fossil' is the country we’ve come to know as Can’tnada. This is Canada’s fourth 'Fossil' victory in as many years. So despite an overall record of climate futility, Canadians should rest assured there’s at least one thing here that Canada is really, really good at."
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Another Fossil of the Day award for Baird in Cancun