Climate crisis and Just Transition: Unions' role on Climate Justice

Abstract

Climate crisis and Just Transition:Unions' role on Climate Justice Diana Junquera Curiel (bio) Climate justice is a term that frames climate change as a social justice issue and must ensure that when we work to address the climate crisis, we do so in a way that reduces inequalities and injustices. Now, to address this whole crisis and energy transition we need to talk about a Just Transition. The term 'Just Transition' comes from the North American unions, when they began developing the concept in the 1990s. Initially, trade unionists understood just transition as a program of support for workers who lost their jobs due to environmental protection policies. Now in 2022, almost 30 years after its origin, the term is used globally by international organisations, governments, companies and environmental groups, although not all include the unions' main demand: Workers must have a seat at the bargaining table and their voice must be heard. It has taken a decade of work for the trade union movement to include the term 'Just Transition' in the Paris Agreement in 2015. Just Transition refers to a fair and equitable path to a sustainable future. A Just Transition will require a variety of programmes that will provide an optimistic future for all workers, especially those in industries that may be affected by efforts to limit greenhouse gases or by the introduction of new technologies. A Just Transition programme is intended to be a comprehensive, flexible and integrated approach to assist workers, their families and their communities. A Just Transition is based on three fundamental pillars: sustainable industrial policies, strong social support programmes and creative, worker-centred labour adjustment programmes. Employers, governments and trade unions must work together through Social Dialogue developed in good faith to ensure sufficient notice and support, training and education, redeployment of the affected workforce, investment in affected communities and the creation of quality jobs in new sectors. These policies shall guarantee equal opportunities for both men and women in the workforce, by addressing existing gender inequalities and shall seek to achieve, with the involvement of trade unions, decent working conditions in the renewable energy sector and its supply chain. These policies shall also address structural and behavioural gender inequalities to allow women, especially young women, to participate in jobs and sectors from which they have been traditionally excluded, including Sciences Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) sectors, and they shall be aligned on women's needs, addressing gender energy poverty though universal access to energy. In 2019, Industriall published A trade union guide to a Just Transition for workers1 where we brought up the key demands for unions and some good examples already existent from different sectors and countries such as Germany, Canada, Australia, Spain and South Africa. One of the keys to making a transition plan work is to provide it with financial resources, and for that, governments and employers must have the will for change and progress. Governments must create longterm energy plans where companies feel confident to invest. This will make it easier to imagine a sustainable future for workers in industries that feel the impact of the energy transition. In 2020, the Government of Spain presented the Strategic Framework for Energy and Climate to facilitate economic development towards a sustainable and competitive model, which minimises the impact of the energy transition, promotes job creation and improves the quality of life of citizens. The Strategic Framework includes the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 (Spanish acronym: PNIEC), the Draft Bill on Climate Change and Energy Transition, and the Just Transition Strategy3. The PNIEC proposes a reduction of between 20 and 21 percent of greenhouse gas emissions with respect to 1990 levels. It plans to reach up to 42 percent of renewable energy consumption over total energy consumption for the year 2030. Regarding electricity generation, the percentage of renewables will be 74 percent. The country's energy efficiency would improve by 39.6 percent by 2030. According to the Government, these figures will allow progress towards the final goal for 2050, which consists of a 100 percent renewable electricity system and zero greenhouse gas emissions for the whole of the economy. Draft Law on Climate...