Climate Change and the labour movement

by Fiona Montgomery

How can the labour movement best respond to climate change and build social justice and sustainability? That’s the focus of an important event on June 20 that aims to set up a new network in the Scottish labour movement.

Richard Leonard from GMB, Stephen Boyd of the STUC and Matthew Crighton from Edinburgh UNISON, will speak on ‘Climate Change and the labour movement’. It starts at 10am on Saturday 20 June, in the STUC, Woodlands Road, Glasgow, with the aim of finishing in time to allow people to attend the ‘Crunch Time for Trident’ rally in Kelvingrove Park.

Matthew said: “The left needs convincing solutions to the problems of climate change so it can take its place in the movement for a sustainable future.

“The environmental crisis and the economic crisis both demand a new global order – one which binds governments and global institutions to an effective treaty which puts people and their environment first.

“Right now, we should know what we want from the UN talks in Copenhagen in December and be campaigning hard for it.

“Once we have a Scottish Climate Change Bill the left should be able to explain how we make the economic and technological changes needed to hit its targets, building social justice as well as sustainability – a green conversion plan.”

To register send your name, union, email address and phone number to City of Edinburgh UNISON, 23 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EN. Email: branchoffice@unison-edinburgh.org.uk Further information from: matthewcrighton@googlemail.com

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