The explosion of generative AI has caused a global boom in the construction of energy-hungry data centres with associated fossil fuel power expansion, as well as concerns about the strain they may place on clean energy resources, grid capacity and water use.
With the UK government keen to fast-track data centres, over 50 are currently being planned or built in the UK, including the largest ever built here, in Cambois, Northumberland. What can we do as campaigners to minimise the climate and environmental impact? And how does it link to social concerns?
Join us for this webinar to hear from experts in this complex area.
Oliver Hayes is Head of Policy & Campaigns at Global Action Plan, which recently won a legal case against the government approving a hyperscale data centre in Buckinghamshire without properly considering the energy use and environmental impact.
Anne Alexander is a researcher and journalist covering the social, ecological and political impacts of AI systems, currently working on a forthcoming book on the AI Arms Race
James Meadway is an economist, host of the weekly economics podcast, Macrodose.
The week of 9-15 February is the annual 'Heart Unions' week, when trade unions spread the word about why unions are important to everyone at work and reach out to encourage new members to join. Trade unions are built on a universal principle - that we are stronger together. Many of the rights we enjoy at work today were won because workers came together in trade unions and fought for them.
Today the climate crisis is the biggest struggle facing us demanding collective action. We need solutions that centre social justice, the needs of communities and workers and international solidarity.
Trade unions are already acting on climate change. However, as with any other part of society, the urgency of the climate crisis means we need to push for faster action. By joining a union, you can help support existing networks that take action, raise awareness, and make links between the climate crisis and other important issues.
Practical things to know:
Your employer might already recognise a specific union. If there is an active union at work, you can find out who your representatives are and speak to one of them. Collective action means that unionised workplaces have better pay and benefits (getting paid around 6.5% more than workers in similar non-unionised workplaces). Union reps can also negotiate on important issues like health and safety.
A key climate test is coming up for the Labour government - the decision whether to allow drilling of the UK's largest undeveloped oil field. Rosebank would bust our climate targets without helping the economy or doing anything to cut household energy bills.
Trade unionists and climate activists gathered at the Department for Energy and Net Zero (DESNZ) before work, as part of the ongoing 'Rosebank pickets' coordinated by Fossil Free London.
If you're a trade unionist who would like to speak out against fossil fuel expansion and for climate jobs and a just transition, sign and share this open letter.
As the UK experiences multiple heatwaves, we all know that there's a big difference between high temperatures sitting in the shade on holiday and the same temperatures in workplaces which aren't designed to cope. There is still no maximum working temperature in the UK, just a minimum working temperature
Heat Strike is a campaign pushing for protections for workers during extreme heat. The campaign is calling for things like a maximum working temperature, heatwave furlough schemes, and proper climate mitigation plans. You can sign up for updates.
One of the key actions is encouraging union members to do lunchtime or after-work banner moments – standing outside your workplace with signs like 'Heat Strike' or 'Too Hot to Work' to highlight how unsafe it can be to work in these conditions. They can be downloaded here - or homemade is fine. Another idea is to take thermometers into work for a visual record of the temperature.
Post photos with the hashtags #HeatStrike #TooHotToWork
MPs hear from the media all the time about the 'net zero backlash' - they don't hear so much from the majority of their constituents who support urgent climate action. We're inviting our supporters to sign up for the Climate Coalition's mass lobby of MPs.
On Wednesday 9th July 2025, thousands of people from every corner of the UK will come to Westminster to tell their MPs:
Deliver vital funding to communities hit hardest by climate change here and around the world
Cut bills, back UK jobs, and secure a greener fairer future for all
Restore nature to create a safer, healthier future
You'll need to register as an individual to meet your MP. Groups are also invited to share their social media details / contact email address to network with others in their community ahead of the lobby
You can sign up to a training session:
How to connect with your MP – perfect for people engaging for the first time or in need of a refresh. 3rd, 4th & 16th June
Anyone thinking seriously about the accelerating climate crisis will know that to address it we have to think about money and power. A recent report found that extreme weather fuelled by the climate crisis has cost some of the world’s poorest countries $156bn over the past two decades, while climate negotiations have been dominated by the unequal struggle to get rich countries to pay up.
As climate campaigners, we don’t always lift the lid on the deeper economic injustice which underlies the need for climate finance - the fact that so many Global South countries are caught in a debt trap, which climate disasters only intensify, and which is a major barrier to climate action. In this webinar, hosted jointly with Debt for Climate and Debt Justice, we hear from Global South and UK campaigners for debt justice.
This year, 2025, is a Jubilee year, with the biggest global campaign for debt cancellation since the turn of the millennium. From 30 June to 3 July the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) will be held in Seville, the first summit of its kind in over a decade, and reforming the debt system will be on the agenda.
In the UK and globally, firefighters are on the frontline of the accelerating climate crisis, fighting wildfires and flooding and seeing the devastating effects on communities and the environment.
TUC Congress last September passed strong motions recognising the severity of the crisis for all workers, and its industrial immediacy in sectors including fire and rescue; arguing for a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels; and agreeing a year of trade union climate action linking up with community and climate justice groups.
The FBU has been a leader on labour movement climate policy and campaigning. Join us for a discussion on how we can do more to put that policy into grassroots action, and how firefighters and fire and rescue workers can play a major role in the coming year of activity and beyond.
Speakers:
Ben Selby, FBU Assistant General Secretary
Clara Paillard, Campaign Against Climate Change TU Group; Unite Grassroots Climate Justice Caucus
Chris Baugh, GMB Branch Chair (personal capacity) & former Assistant General Secretary of PCS
Andy Warren, London firefighter and London FBU NE Area Organiser
Chair and facilitator: Kasey LeGall, FBU B&EMM Secretary
At this year's TUC, Congress voted in favour of key climate policies. Composite 18 from Unison and PCS makes clear how climate is a class and Trade Union issue. The motion calls for an urgent end to fossil fuels, a national climate service, public ownership, huge investment in the jobs needed for a radical transition. It commits the TUC to a year of green Trade Union campaigning.
Join us to discuss the significance of this important motion, and how we turn these words into action.
Composite 5, from Unite and GMB, was passed narrowly on a card vote. It argued for the continued use of gas as part of the energy mix, and stressed 'no ban without a plan' regarding new licences for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. It was opposed by many unions who want to see a ban and a plan.
Join us to discuss how we can shift the debate further in all unions.
Speakers:
Sarah Woolley General Secretary, BFAWU
John Moloney, Assistant General Secretary, PCS
Sean Vernell, UCU NEC
Liz Wheatley, Unison NEC
Clara Paillard, Unite Grassroots Climate Justice Caucus
Meeting organised by the Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group, co-sponsored by Unite Grassroots Climate Caucus and the Greener Jobs Alliance
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.
It’s about communities having homes that are affordable to heat, decent public transport and clean air. It’s about public ownership of key services, and workplace health and safety. It’s about climate jobs, with a massive deployment of skilled labour needed across many sectors.
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.
Speakers:
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary, NEU
John Moloney, Assistant General Secretary, PCS
Liz Wheatley, Unison
Nick Mead, BFAWU
Chaired by Suzanne Jeffery, Campaign against Climate Change trade union group
