Below are photos of our protest at the US embassy in London. Thanks to all who came, and especially to the speakers!
Trump plans to boost US oil and gas production, gut environmental protections and slash clean energy investment. Claiming global warming is a hoax, he intends to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, even while the toll from climate disasters mounts in the US and around the world. We canāt let him derail global progress towards averting the worst of climate breakdown.
Another date for your diaries: there will be a 'Together against Trump' rally opposite Downing Street during Trump's inauguration: Monday 20th January, from 5pm.
Not just in the US, but around the world, so many woke up with grief and horror to the discovery that Donald Trump had again won the US election. We don't need to have any illusions about the status quo - the US's long history of abuses of power and its unapologetic contribution to climate breakdown - to understand that Trump's second presidency is a catastrophe.
At a crucial point where our heating climate is already increasingly erratic and dangerous, and we are very close to tipping points, he will pull back hard from global efforts to reverse the acceleration of fossil fuel pollution. Withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement is almost certain, as well as cutting or ending the US's contributions to climate finance, essential for the countries in the front line of climate change.
Maximising US fossil fuel production will be a priority: "drill, baby, drill".
It is not just the direct increase in emissions caused by these actions we need to consider, it's the potential domino effect. We know that even those governments who claim to take climate breakdown seriously already prefer words to action when it comes to cutting pollution. Rich countries have all consistently failed to meet their responsibilities on climate finance. With the US set to drop all of its commitments, it is hard to see others stepping up.
There are some changes Trump may find harder to make than he expects. With jobs from Biden's Inflation Reduction Act largely in Republican-voting areas, others in his party may push back on getting rid of these. Economic incentives to renewable energy investment will remain with technology costs having fallen fast. And Democratic controlled state legislatures still have powers to act in their own domain. But we know that Trump and his allies do not respect democracy, and they will control the entire machinery of government.
We know that there are many in the US who also have very immediate fears from a Trump government - and with good reason. These are dark days ahead. We must stand with them as they fight for their rights and safety.
We also must not let our own government or any corporations off the hook. The standards we have to hold them to are: 'Is this in line with climate science and human rights?', 'Is it fair and just?', 'Is this genuine action, not just greenwash?' Trump's active malevolence cannot be a reason to let other nations to get away with warm words and too little action on climate.
Another threat here is the emboldening of the far right, in the UK and across Europe. We need to face up to this and the related risk of climate denial.
We know we cannot save everything. But everything which we can save is worth saving.
It states: "Congress agrees that climate change poses a systemic risk to working class communities, but at a time of rising geopolitical tension does not believe that we can abandon fossil fuels until we know how the jobs and communities from the North Sea fields will be protected. Congress notes with dismay that the new government has adopted a target to stop drilling in the North Sea before any plan for jobs has been agreed."
and calls for "an industrial strategy policy that maximises our domestic energy strengths for national security, with all assets and options part of the solution: nuclear, renewables and oil and gas production"
Unison, UCU and NEU spoke against the motion, and it went to a card vote, passing by by 2,712k for to 2,457k against.
By passing the motion, Congress agreed to campaign for a national maximum working temperature, a heat wave furlough scheme and a climate action plan, and to support Heat Strike when temperatures go above 36C. Heat Strike is not a legal union strike but can include direct actions, protests, workplace lunchtime walkouts, awareness raising, lobbying of politicians or community actions.
Both had the same core - a recognition of climate change as a class issue, and the need for a rapid transition away from fossil fuels based on a just transition, public ownership and a national climate service.
GMB had submitted an amendment to the original PCS motion. As you can see this contradicts the intention of the original motion (what we'd call a wrecking amendment) and Unison and PCS did not accept its inclusion in the composite motion.
GMB and Prospect abstained and Unite said they were supporting the motion 'with reservation', so the motion was carried.
There are clearly contradictions between these motions, and debates will inevitably continue. It's important that these are framed in the context of the climate crisis as an urgent global issue that affects all workers. We're very grateful to all those who held that red line strongly at TUC.
Among much else, C18 commits TUC to "a year of green trade union activity including engagement with community and climate justice groups". We think this could be a very useful platform for activity where we can take the initiative.
Watch this space for further discussion and action.
Motions proposed by Unison and PCS would commit the Trade Union movement to the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuel and invest in climate jobs. The GMB has proposed amendments which if accepted would remove this clear commitment to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels.
This is an important moment for TUC delegates to support motions which would give impetus to putting the climate crisis at the top of the TU agenda and seriously get behind demanding an urgent transition with huge investment in the jobs which could make a difference.
The GMB amendments should be rejected. We need a clear and unambiguous commitment to end fossil fuels in line with the urgency of the climate crisis.
The details of the motions and debates are covered in the Green Jobs Alliance (GJA) special newsletter which poses the questions - 'Will our movement be on the right side of the science and the right side of history after the TUC Congress this year?' This is essential reading for all and especially for TUC delegates.
The GMB flesh out their support for gas in a motion on industrial strategy, this is a motion which would, if passed, disastrously demand continued fossil fuel investment by the government. Unite's motion on the transition in North Sea oil and gas fields has adopted the slogan, 'no ban without a plan'. But we need both. A ban cannot not be counterposed to a plan, both are urgent and necessary. The detail of these motions are discussed in the GJA newsletter, and the full TUC agenda is here (climate motions from p15 onwards)
Sun 8th Sept: What should a new government do for jobs and climate in a climate crisis?
Sunday 8th September, 6.30-7.45pm, Meeting room 1c, Brighton Centre, hosted by CACCTU
The climate crisis is a class and trade union issue, already impacting the lives and livelihoods of working class people globally. Tackling it requires urgent action on fossil fuels and active leadership across the union movement is essential. This is not an issue any trade unionist can ignore.
An end to fossil fuels, a just transition and a plan to deliver this and huge public investment in the transformation of the economy have never been more urgent.
After 14 years of Tory government, Labour has swept to power on a wave of disillusionment and anger at the Conservative Party. This is an opportunity to fix much that has been broken in this country, to build a fairer society, and, crucially, to take urgent action on the existential threat of climate breakdown, which is already causing destruction around the world, hitting those who have done least to cause the crisis hardest. Will that opportunity be taken?
Time to act on climate
Globally, every month since June 2023 has set a new temperature record for that month. This excess heat has resulted not just in heatwaves, drought and wildfires but in supercharged storms able to carry higher rainfall loads, resulting in catastrophic floods in many regions, and here in the UK, farmers suffering from the abnormally wet winter.
But despite these clear signs of climate breakdown, which underline the dangers of making irreversible changes to our climate and potentially triggering tipping points, climate action here in the UK has stalled. Rishi Sunak spent his last months in power attempting to garner popularity by pushing back Net Zero targets alongside a mission to drill 'every last drop' from the North Sea.
The previous government's climate plan was recently found in court (for the second time) to be inadequate to achieve the UK's national and international climate targets. It's time for a new plan.
Time to invest in the future
For decades the level of public investment in the UK has been significantly lower than that of comparable countries. The Labour government has promised to deliver tangible improvements to peopleās lives; to repair the damage to public services caused by austerity; and to get the UK back on track to address the climate crisis. These are all essential, but if public spending continues to be constrained to austerity levels, it is hard to see how these aspirations can succeed. The transformation that is needed cannot be left to the market, nor can solutions be limited to those which are acceptable to industry lobbyists. There is widespread support for public ownership in key sectors such as energy and transport.
Time to get off fossil fuels
The climate crisis demands a rapid transition away from fossil fuels and no new oil and gas exploration or infrastructure. Labour's pledge not to issue any more licenses for North Sea drilling is vital, but on its own won't be enough. Last September, the Rosebank oil field, the largest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea, was given consent for drilling. The resulting CO2 emissions would be more than the annual emissions of all 28 low-income countries. It's essential that this field, and others which have recently been licensed are not developed. Labour will be in a strong position to do this if the forthcoming legal case against Rosebank approval is successful (following the groundbreaking Supreme Court judgement that downstream emissions must be taken into account in planning decisions).
We need a just transition for workers and communities who have depended on fossil fuel jobs which are already in decline. Jobs in North Sea oil extraction have already halved in the past decade, a trend which will inevitably continue as reserves decline. In the shift to renewable energy that can give this country genuine energy security, an industrial strategy for a just transition is essential.
Labour has swept to power on a wave of disillusionment and anger at the Conservative Party. Itās an opportunity to fix much that has been broken in this country, to build a fairer society, and also to take urgent action on the existential threat of climate breakdown, which is already causing destruction around the world, hitting those who have done least to cause the crisis hardest.
We need to invest in the future
For decades the level of public investment in the UK has been significantly lower than that of comparable countries. The Labour government has promised to deliver tangible improvements to peopleās lives; to repair the damage to public services caused by austerity; and to get the UK back on track to address the climate crisis. These are all essential, but if public spending continues to be constrained to austerity levels, it is hard to see how these aspirations can succeed.
We need a workforce for the climate emergency
Any credible strategy to tackle the climate crisis needs to also be a jobs strategy, as set out for example in the Campaign against Climate Changeās 2021 report, Climate Jobs: Building a Workforce for the Climate Emergency. There are jobs to be created around the country - in insulating homes and installing heat pumps, in public transport, in renewable energy, in shifting to a zero waste economy, repairing, reusing and recycling. And in the rural economy, where farming is already being hit by climate breakdown.
The climate crisis demands that we need a rapid transition away from fossil fuels and no new oil and gas exploration or infrastructure. Jobs in North Sea oil extraction have already halved in the past decade, a trend which will inevitably continue as reserves decline. A just transition plan, shifting to renewable energy that can give this country genuine energy security, is not just needed for the climate, it is essential to protect these workers and communities.
A CACCTU response to Uniteās āNo Ban Without a Planā campaign.
Launched on 17th of May, Uniteās No Ban Without a Plan campaign aims āto ensure that a future Labour government drops its planned ban on new licences for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, until a genuine programme for the just transition of work is operationalā.
As an organisation campaigning for climate justice, our response to this is unequivocal.
We stand in full solidarity with militant action to ensure that the transition away from oil and gas is one that is fair to workers and their communities: protecting incomes, providing good new jobs on at least equivalent terms and conditions, and guaranteeing furlough where there are unavoidable gaps in employment or where a worker needs to retrain.
Equally, we stand in solidarity with the millions of workers, worldwide and in the UK, whose livelihoods, homes and lives are threatened or have already been destroyed by the climate impacts of fossil fuel burning. A ban on new licences, as part of a phase-out of fossil fuel extraction, is therefore non-negotiable; it is not a bargaining chip, a 'concession' to be granted or withdrawn, but an existential necessity for all of us.
On the positive side, the campaign hints at movement in Uniteās position on oil and gas - a recognition that a transition away from fossil fuels is both necessary and inevitable, and can, with the right policies and investment, be achieved without mass job losses. A move towards identifying and bargaining around the terms of such a transition certainly looks like a step forward.
However, we have serious concerns about the rhetoric framing the campaign. We also feel that it misrepresents the situation in the North Sea in some significant ways:
1. A ban on new licences, as promised in Labourās election manifesto, will not in itself make a significant difference to continuing extraction. It usually takes more than ten years from licence issue for a field to start production, and they have said they do not intend to revoke the large number of licences already issued. These include the vast Rosebank field, whose reserves, if burned, would generate more than the combined annual emissions of the 28 poorest countries. This is not a particularly strong climate policy, nor is it in any way an immediate threat to jobs.
2. North Sea oil and gas are already in sharp decline. The Scottish Herald reported last November that 200,000 jobs supported by the North Sea oil and gas sector had been lost over the last decade. The real threat to jobs is not having a transition plan for the energy sector and its workforce.
3. As regards āenergy securityā, even the UK government acknowledges that 80% of oil from new fields such as Rosebank would be traded on international markets, making very little difference to prices or to the proportion of oil products used in the UK that come from UK waters. The amount of oil from new licences sent to UK refineries would account for less than 1% of the fuels used in the UK in 2030.
As for the language used, we believe it plays too readily into the populist demonisation of climate action as an authoritarian assault on workersā freedoms and standards of living, which ignores both the threat climate breakdown presents to workers and their own agency in shaping a transition.
In the narrow window of time remaining to avert dangerous climate tipping points, the next UK government must bring real solutions to move our economy off fossil fuels. It must invest to transform the economy for a cleaner, fairer future, and address the interlocking social crises this country faces.
The election announcement on 22 May was certainly memorable. As Rishi Sunak spoke in the rain, Things Can Only Get Better was played loudly in the background by protesters.
But - 'better' is not enough in a time of climate breakdown. We have had a year of unprecedented global temperatures, with climate disasters around the world, and climate scientists aghast by the world's failure, even now, to step away from fossil fuels.
Time to make your voice heard
It's always worth lobbying MPs - even if they may seem unresponsive, it gives them a sense of what their constituents care about. But it's actually much easier to get them to listen before they've even secured their seat in Parliament. The next government is expected to have a lot of first-time MPs. Before they get in, they need to hear that voters want action on the climate emergency.
There are lots of ways to do this: get on the streets, contact your candidates by email, join together with others in local groups to organise a climate hustings, or attend general hustings and ask a climate question, write to your local paper.
Restore Nature Now march, London, 22 June
Before the election was called, over 150 campaign groups and NGOs had already signed up to support this national demonstration to Restore Nature Now. Demands including no new fossil fuels and investment in climate action. This will be a great opportunity to create a visual statement of the general public demanding a safe future and liveable planet where people and nature can not just survive but thrive.
We'll be marching together with our friends on the climate justice bloc. If you're outside London, some coaches have been organised.
Writing to candidates
You can find out how to contact your election candidates on the Who Can I Vote For website.
Speaking out on the climate emergency, in whatever way, helps break the silence and raise awareness. Remember your ultimate aim is to convince someone who may be your MP for the next five years, not just to vent (totally understandable) frustration and anger at inaction!
You might like to read this guidance from Hope for the Future about writing a letter that's more likely to be read.
A personal appeal - you can choose an angle that's personal to you, or that you think will resonate with the candidate you're writing to, whether that's climate jobs; fuel poverty and the need for home insulation, the impact of climate change and floods on UK farmers, the failure of our planning system which encourages mass expansion of roads and airports - or even just one of the recent news stories about the impacts of climate breakdown around the world or concerns for your children.
Local insight - You can find information here about your own constituency - the proportion of people who consider climate change a high priority, who would support renewable energy projects in the local area, who are worried about energy bills or are in fuel poverty.
The big picture - As the planet heats up, the impacts of climate breakdown multiply, and we are running out of time. The UK is not on track to meet its climate commitments. The bottom line is that the next government must stop new fossil fuel extraction and damaging infrastructure like airport expansion and mass road-building. And massive investment in the infrastructure we do need - insulating homes, public transport, renewable energy, creating a workforce for the climate emergency. For example, Friends of the Earth estimates Ā£50 billion a year or 2% of GDP - slightly less than is currently spent on defence to deliver lasting benefits. The UK also needs to pay its fair share of climate finance to countries facing the worst climate impacts to help them adapt and fund their own emissions reductions.
Ask them if they would back these policies:
No new oil fields in the North Sea, including Rosebank. A just transition plan for workers
Mass investment in climate jobs, including setting up a National Climate Service
A comprehensive home insulation programme, publicly funded
Public ownership of energy and transport
A planning system that works for the climate, scrapping mass road building and halting airport expansion
A National Climate Service would create and coordinate directly employed public sector jobs to cut emissions across key sectors of the economy, with national planning and coordination of strategy and workforce training, and local delivery. Find out more about climate jobs
In their current form, coral reefs have been around for around 60 million years. A quarter of all marine life, including over 4,000 species of fish, are dependent on coral reefs at some point in their life cycle. But these extraordinary ecosystems cannot survive the regular marine heatwaves caused by global heating.
In the 1980s, the first observed incidents occurred of coral reefs turning white over extended areas. Scientist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg discovered the cause. Corals are animals related to jellyfish and anemones. Their polyps take food from the water but they also depend on symbiotic algae which provide them with an additional food source through photosynthesis. Under heat stress, corals expel these algae, leaving their tissue a ghostly white. Without their algae, corals slowly starve, and may die. By the time of the first global bleaching event in 1998, Hoegh-Guldberg was able to predict that as early as the 2020s some reefs could be bleaching six or more times a decade - far too frequent to give them time to recover. The scientist was branded an āalarmistā. But in 2018 a landmark review by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that if the earth warmed by 1.5C above pre-industrial levels this āwill result in the further loss of 90% of reef-building corals compared to todayā.
In March 2023, global sea surface temperatures started breaking records, and have stayed that way since. The warming impact of El NiƱo has further exacerbated the heating caused by fossil fuel burning. These extreme ocean temperatures have led to what is believed to be the worst planet-wide coral bleaching event ever. This is the fourth global bleaching event on record and the second in the last 10 years. A global bleaching event is declared when at least 12% of corals in each of the main ocean basins - Pacific, Atlantic and Indian - experience bleaching-level heat stress within a 12-month period.
In the past days, wildfires have ravaged central Chile with a death toll of at least 131, and more than 300 people still missing at the time of writing. These fires are the most deadly, but not the first in recent years - six of the most destructive fire seasons on record in Chile have occurred in the past decade. Particularly notable are 2017 and February 2023 when fierce fires raged across the country killing dozens, injuring thousands, and leaving many people homeless.
The fires come on the back of an extreme heatwave. Chileās capital Santiago reached 37.3C on 31 January, the countryās third-highest recorded temperature in more than a century. This heatwave has affected large parts of the continent.
On top of the long-term global heating trend, temperatures have been pushed even higher by El NiƱo. This summer heatwave was preceded by an extraordinary winter heatwave across much of South America. In August 2023, temperatures in the Chilean Andes rose as high as 38.9C in mid winter.
The long-term trend is just as worrying. For over a decade, Chile has been grappling with a megadrought. This is a crisis of climatic change and lack of rainfall, but also a social and economic crisis of water management. Huge amounts of water are consumed by monoculture tree plantations to the south of Santiago and the avocado orchards in the north. Meanwhile the glaciers of the Andes continue to shrink. In 2022, water rationing was introduced in the capital, Santiago, the capital.
