COP agreement inadequate

The agreement reached at the conclusion of the latest COP29 international climate negotiations (see Labour Research, December 2024 page 23), is “woefully insufficient to meet the urgent demands of the climate crisis”, said the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

And it was “an insult to working people and the countries of the Global South”.

The ITUC highlighted in particular the agreement to mobilise just US $300 billion from sources including development bank loans and private finance over 10 years — well below the minimum US $1.3 trillion required to address the climate needs of developing countries.

And it said meaningful discussions on the just transition work programme had been sidelined. “COP29 has failed workers and communities worldwide,” said ITUC general secretary Luc Triangle. “Rich, developed countries have ignored their responsibility to deliver the finance needed to tackle the climate crisis in the Global South, and they have refused to prioritise the implementation of Just Transition policies.

“Workers are at the heart of climate action, but once again, they have been excluded from the process.”