This week, just in time for the Copenhagen climate convention, the annual Global Climate Risk Index was released, telling how vulnerable each country in the world is to the costs of climate change.   Guess who was number one in financial losses from climate change? The United States. Surprised?  There’s a reason you haven’t heard much about [...]

[Fourth in the series “Labor goes to Copenhagen] One of the most contentious issues in climate negotiations is how to share the burden of climate protection between the rich developed countries of the North and the poor developing countries of the South. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) represents unionized workers in all parts of the world, [...]

[Third in the series “Labor Goes to Copenhagen] According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN-sponsored scientific body that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work, keeping global temperature within 2 degrees C of historic levels requires reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by specific targets. The global trade union movement has committed [...]

[Second in the series “Labor goes to Copenhagen"] At the core of global labor’s strategy for climate protection is the idea of a “just transition” to a low-carbon economy. A just transition means that the burden of change that benefits everyone will not be placed disproportionately on a few.  It means that those most vulnerable to change [...]