Motion: Climate emergency (updated)

Bring this motion to your trade union branch to build support for the Youth Strike for Climate and organise towards the climate strike on 20 September. Download a pdf: Climate model motion.

This (branch/region/trades council/union/conference) notes the urgent need for action on the climate emergency, both in response to existing negative impacts such as extreme weather, fires, droughts, floods and loss of habitat and species; and to avoid the catastrophic and irreversible climate damage which people increasingly realise the world is on course for, after the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

We recognise that big business, the military and the richest individuals are responsible for the vast majority of climate change, yet the global working class and poor are disproportionately at risk. A just transition is essential, not only because it is right, but because it is the only way the movement against climate chaos will secure the mass support needed to win and avoid a rich minority protecting themselves at the expense of the planet and the vast majority of people. We congratulate the school students striking around the world for real climate action.

We resolve to:

1. Publicly state our support and solidarity with the climate strikers.

2. Invite climate strikers to speak at our meeting.

3. Give practical support to the climate strikes, without adults taking it over. This will include asking schools to commit to imposing no sanctions against striking students, promoting the strikes on social media, encouraging members to attend, taking our flags or banner if agreed with the strikers, providing megaphones and stewards if requested.

4. Support the call for workers to join the climate strike on 20 September 2019 and to maximise member involvement.

5. Work with other local labour movement and environmental organisations to arrange discussions locally and within workplaces about practically how workers and unions can join the climate strike or show solidarity.

6. Call on employers and local authorities to declare a climate emergency and involve workers and communities in planning, implementing and monitoring to rapidly achieve zero carbon emissions, including ending investments in fossil fuels.

7. Call on employers to recognise union green/environmental reps and give them work time for their activities.

8. Call on unions and the TUC to back the climate strikes, call and build action.

9. Call on our union to support the UCU motion to the TUC which calls for it to organise a 30-minute workday solidarity stoppage on 20 September 2019

10. Demand massive public investment in the jobs required to address climate emergency, including massive improvements in renewable energy, housing and public transport.

11. Send this motion to our local trades council, up through our union structure, and to the local Labour Party.

Note: this was updated 9 July 2019