[ad_1]
Having been in the international labor movement for over 15 years, I focused on environmentalism. I am now the director of the Greenpeace International program. During my journey, with each foot in each of these two movements, we have seen tremendous changes.
We have all seen workers struggle, challenge their hypocritical employers, form unions and, with renewed energy, claim a decent job, protection and voice in their workplace, sector and countries. But what I had the privilege of seeing and working on is equally exciting.
When I took part in environmental talks, there was a strong perception among unions that climate action should be delayed if certain social conditions were not met, as if the fight against climate change was a kind of allowance for a peaceful and prosperous society.
In parallel, the environmental movement used to think that trying to fix social inequalities or correct job losses would waste precious time. Instead, the idea that climate ambition could only be driven by governments prevailed if science continued.
But times are changing.
Now on this planet there is hardly a union that thinks we can delay action against climate change. And there are good reasons to think about that change.
First, climate change is already affecting incomes and livelihoods. Supply chains are already vulnerable. Workers in sectors such as agriculture, health and construction are in increasingly precarious situations, exacerbated by climate impacts.
Second, young people have mobilized around the climate, taken it as an intergenerational struggle and asked unions to be with them.
And third, there is a much stronger set of proposals for a fair transition, including policies to support regions and workers, strong social protection, and a much higher level of ambition for green industrial policy.
The green movement has also changed. It is increasingly recognized that without social justice there can be no environmental justice. These are complex challenges that we face, involving multiple and cross-cutting forms of crisis and oppression. The better equipped we are to deal with the underlying power systems, the more chances we have of winning.
Within this, we must remove the power of those who want to stop positive change. This means taking in the richest people and companies in the world. Let us not be naive, our opponents will not hesitate to manipulate workers and people in the most vulnerable situations to protect their privileges.
We know that there is no way to reach levels of climate ambition without the massive support of the people. We need to connect with our hearts and minds. That means a commitment to listen to people, even when that’s difficult. This challenge is even more crucial in the inevitable decline of people’s lives when they are dependent on dirty industries.
So it has moved away from the binary and artificial opposition between caring for jobs and caring for the environment, to the dialogue about how we walk through the tension and dynamism that transformation of this magnitude creates. Together we can create a future, both full of life and with an exciting planet.
At Greenpeace, we see the struggle for that future as another chapter in the story that workers have written over the decades. We are all dreamers of a more sustainable future, so we organize and lead hard resistance and optimism. That is the spirit of the historical struggle of the workers: never give up.
Building on the COVID-19 pandemic, we need that spirit more than ever.
We must all leave a senseless inertia that prioritizes greed, profit, and competition to the detriment of all. That is why those who believe in the need to protect our global home must unite with the workers in the call for the direct transition we all need, at the center of people and the planet’s decisions.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the attitude of the Al Jazeera editorial.
[ad_2]
Source link
