Over to Copenhagen (A lovely city to visit): how exactly do we adjust the global economy to save the planet from catastrophic changes AND do so in a way that is fair to workers. The process is called "Just Transition". The international labor movement–there is a delegation in Copenhagen drawing from labor around the world (yours truly was privileged to take part in the last meeting in Bali on the topic)–has put out a booklet on the topic.

   Here are the basics put out in a booklet developed by the "Global Unions" coalition:

Just Transition is a tool aimed at smoothing the shift towards a more sustainable society and providing hope for the capacity of a ‘green economy’ to sustain decent jobs and livelihoods for all…

…A Just Transition can provide new opportunities for decent jobs and local development, turn climate policies into engines for sustainable growth and social progress and protect poor populations from losing their livelihoods. This is essential for fairness and making change happen.

We need to develop an alternative to the model that brought about a socially unjust and environmentally unsustainable structure of production that undermines our capacity to provide decent livelihoods for the world’s people and concentrates wealth in the hands of the few. We need to replace the model that has promoted a system in which unsustainable modes of production are accepted as the necessary collateral damage to achieve growth and development.

With the right policies and through Just Transition, millions of ‘green’ and decent jobs can be created in sectors such as renewable energies, energy efficiency and public transport.

Climate change policies can also drive improvements in jobs in sectors with high carbon emissions, making them more socially and environmentally sustainable. ‘Greening’ jobs is another means of ensuring long-term sustainability for existing jobs in a resource-constrained future.

Taking action on climate change requires a ‘hands-on’ transformation of the economy rather than change that relies on the ‘invisible hand’ of the market. The current crises – energy, food, financial and employment – all came about as a result of trust in the market to act in the common good. Government policy should encourage long-term investment in environmentally viable and healthy public and private enterprises that generate good and stable employment, rather than short-term, precarious work.

   I would have made this booklet a bit more user-friendly. Aside from that, the above snippets make one think about this: how does one create a new economic model when the labor movement is under attack. Or, put another way, without an explicit agreement in Copenhagen that the growth of unions must be a priority for every country, how do you get to a world that provides "decent livelihoods for the world’s people and concentrates wealth in the hands of the few"? You don’t. 

   And, so, that commitment–making labor vibrant and strong–has to be central to the climate change agreements. And that poses a challenge, first and foremost, for this country.