UK: Environmentalists demand action on global warming

Trade unionists and green campaigners in the UK joined forces today in a bid to tackle climate change.

The Campaign Against Climate Change Union Conference brought together union leaders and employees from across the UK to discuss the challenges facing workers.

Topics for discussion at the conference, held at the University of London, included carbon trading, how to make the workplace greener and alternative energy.

Tony Kearns, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers’ Union, said: “Today’s conference is a rallying cry for individual members to take the massive issue of climate change back to their branches across the UK.

“The trade union movement has always been a vehicle for pushing forward social change and that is what we are beginning today.

“This is important to unions because if it affects the world it affects people and workers. We need to look at different ways of living and therefore working.

“Capitalism is not suddenly going to wake up and decide we need to save the planet. We as unions need to force the change and this is just the beginning.

“The union movement will go from here and there will be more conferences when we will begin to ask questions of government and business. But today is predominantly about coming together and making a positive start.”

But Mr Kearns admitted that not all the unions were yet behind the climate change movement.

“Not all the trade unions are on board yet, of course. There are obvious issues for workers involved in industries such as nuclear power, oil and the production of cars and other vehicles.

“They will have to hold internal discussions about what their potential role might be.

“But soon enough we will be forced to make changes which will affect them. They will have to address the issue, just as we all will, on what to do if resources run out.

“Of course there is the potential for many new jobs through the development of alternative fuel and many other aspects.”