One of the keys to moving towards a food system that is less dependent on fossil fuels and pesticides is farmer education and training. Challenging the prevailing narrative is part of the process: “Of all the monopolies in industrial agriculture, the most powerful is the monopoly of [...]Read the full article
José González was one of the countless migrants who risk crossing into the United States in search of a better life. But after years spent pursuing an American dream that is inaccessible to most, he returned home to the Sierra de Durango in north-west Mexico where he found the good life working [...]Read the full article
Luis Linares:Bernardo Arévalo’s election victory offers a glimmer of hope that efforts will be made to promote green and decent work. But the ‘pact of the corrupt’, trying to prevent the social democrat from taking office on 14 January 2024, is fuelling uncertainty, and could block the reforms needed in rural [...]Read the full article
Unions and many environmentalists want to see all waste workers – including waste pickers – in decent working conditions, while ensuring that upstream workers are not left behind.Read the full article
Marga Zambrana:Experts and international organisations warn that only those who are able to quickly adapt to change through lifelong learning will survive.Read the full article
Australia’s political leaders have long supported the coal industry. With the industry now in decline, workers and trade unions are taking the lead to ensure a just transition.Read the full article
Although Costa Rica is widely applauded for its environmental policies, it is lagging behind in other areas linked to the environment, such as just transition.Read the full article
Francisco Mora:“December 2021. That’s the last date when the buses I have been working in and around my whole life will be phased out, for a new generation of all-electric ones. That is also the date I will lose my job, just three years short of retirement and without other alternatives to fall back [...]Read the full article
“In creating green champions, our aim is to come up with environmental experts at the trade union level and to build the capacity for participation and in advocating for a just transition in Kenya.”Read the full article
Environmental campaigners say that the new airport plan is at odds with the government’s commitment to reduce emissions and become carbon neutral by 2050.Read the full article
Mexico is reluctant to part with fossil fuels. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s energy strategy is firmly committed to new hydrocarbon projects and the generation of dirty energy, to the detriment of renewable sources such as wind and solar [...]Read the full article
A new crop of professionals in the region are developing and engaging in new projects to help communities, the environment, and to make a difference.Read the full article
Bruno Dobrusin:Cities and public transport will be essential in the recovery from Covid. However, current narratives often miss the crucial role played by public transport workers, their representatives, and the need for a just transition that ensures a decent livelihood for [...]Read the full article
Torn between its international climate commitments to promote industrial projects that create clean energy sources and its reliance on still dominant polluting industries, Senegal must find a model of transition that is both just and capable of maintaining a balance in its progress towards [...]Read the full article
Rising sea levels have forced workers to migrate to Bangladesh’s congested cities and accept extremely poor working conditions and low wages out of sheer desperation. The Bangladeshi trade unions are fighting to protect these workers while adopting just transition [...]Read the full article
Bert De Wel:“While just transition is a concept that is often associated with workers in fossil fuel industries that are in decline or expected to decline, the concept goes well beyond this.”Read the full article
While some forward-looking members are trying to raise awareness about environmental issues within the UGTT, the trade union centre is already practicing just transition, whether they know it or not.Read the full article
For the Scottish labour movement, COP26 offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ensure that Scotland’s world-leading emissions targets put a just transition for workers and communities at the centre of all policies, investments and [...]Read the full article
Burning the wires and cables of end-of-life electrical goods and electronics is incredibly toxic and completely unregulated, with workers at Agbogbloshie suffering burns and the dangerous effects of air, soil and water pollution.Read the full article
Spain is looking for new ways to breathe life into its mining regions following the closure of its coal mines in 2018. Just transition and social dialogue are key, but time is running out.Read the full article
Steve Rushton:This pandemic is only the most visible wave of the disaster that rampant, unchecked capitalism has led us to; we must take full advantage of this moment of reflection the coronavirus has afforded us. We must heal the world.Read the full article
The governments of Europe are trying to maintain employment even if it means that the states themselves assume payment of a portion of salaries. Will they be able to save millions of families from ruin? What formula is being developed by the EU [...]Read the full article
Destined for urbanisation, the salt marshes of Ulcinj in Montenegro, amongst the largest in the Mediterranean, are now protected. The challenge now for local stakeholders lies in restoring the harmony that existed between nature and human activity, before the production of salt came to an [...]Read the full article
The cork industry provides decent, green, skilled jobs for thousands of workers, setting a notable example as the world transitions to its low carbon future.Read the full article
Last December, the European Commission announced its ecological transition plan, intended to be a “new growth strategy” for the continent. But even if the EU can achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, what good will it do if the other regions of the world don’t join the green [...]Read the full article
In the same way that governments have a duty to teach children how to read and write, they also need to ensure that young people are climate literate before it’s too late.Read the full article
Sharan Burrow:“We have just 10 years to stabilise the planet for our own survival. We know that the pathway to high ambition is just transition, and trade unions can take credit for the broad recognition of this demand.”Read the full article
Renewable energy companies are repeating the same business practices for which the fossil fuel industry has been criticized – practices that are very far from being clean.Read the full article
The less reliant farmers are on agribusiness, and the more resilient the seeds they plant are to the vagaries of climate change, the better for the livelihoods of India’s farmers.Read the full article
Costa Rica, a small country of five million people, is seen as a model of sustainable development. But this success sits uncomfortably with its environmentally destructive agricultural practices.Read the full article
The reintroduction of wildlife, which receives disproportionate media attention, is but one element of a broad spectrum of measures that rewilding encompasses.Read the full article
Ruwan Subasinghe:Without the right to strike workers will not be able to effectively demand investment in new green jobs, training, income protection and other necessary measures for a fair and just transition.Read the full article
Cigarette butts are one of the most common sources of litter in the world and pose serious environmental hazards. While a European directive will force cigarette manufacturers to take responsibility for cigarette waste, its application date of 2024 is insufficient faced with the current state [...]Read the full article
Steve Rushton:“Putting peace front and centre of the Green New Deal offers a way to reverse the vicious cycle of arms, oil and war.”Read the full article
Bert De Wel:“Workers have to speak up and organise. We have to make sure that our jobs, our businesses and our colleagues are ready for ambitious climate policies. This is a core union responsibility and it starts on the work floor.”Read the full article
While eating insects is nothing new in Thailand, breeding them is a relatively recent phenomenon that dates back to 1997. Insect farming carries both the benefits of limited environmental impact and employment opportunities for women in rural areas, as well as the looming risk of increased [...]Read the full article