Prepared for: COP24, Katowice, Poland; December 3-14, 2018
After more than a decade of speeches and assurances from global elites, the “green growth” approach to climate protection has failed to make any meaningful progress in addressing the climate crisis. Renewable energy is on an upward course, but overall energy consumption has continued to rise even faster; as a result, fossil fuel use continues to expand, emissions continue to rise, and nearly every major country is off-track to meet their Paris commitments.
November 12, 2018 - Thirty years of neoliberal domination, culminating in the economic crisis that began in 2008, have resulted in the introduction of charges for public service throughout Europe, particularly for education and health services. But this is not the case in all public services. In recent years there has been a renaissance of free public transport, particularly in Eastern Europe.
Agreement with unions includes early retirement for miners, re-skilling and environmental restoration
Oct. 26, 2018
Spain is to shut down most of its coalmines by the end of the year after government and unions struck a deal that will mean €250m (£221m) will be invested in mining regions over the next decade.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley sees no need to punish B.C. as her government awaits the completion of a new National Energy Board review of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
Notley was in Kamloops on Wednesday to address a United Steelworkers convention at the Coast Kamloops Hotel and Conference Centre, where she stressed the importance of the project.
A new report co-written by Gil McGowan, the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour and co-chair of Alberta's energy diversification advisory committee, suggests the province could reap an economic bonanza from the LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility being developed in northern British Columbia.
McGowan spoke to David Gray about the report on the Calgary Eyeopener Tuesday. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
During the San Francisco Global Climate Action Summit, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) announced its support for a declaration to create zero-emissions cities by 2030.
According to the ITF’s General Secretary Stephen Cotton, “The ITF and its affiliates are ready to support the declaration in real and tangible ways. We recognise that if we act now and act together, dangerous climate change can be averted. That’s why the ITF is here at GCAS making the case for massively expanding public transport now.”
[Editor: 'Action Gets the Goods!' - A recent example of the power of organized labour.]
It is increasingly clear that educators’ unions have a new fighting spirit since the uprising of teachers in West Virginia last spring. The school year began with a wave of strike authorizations from LA to Seattle. Many of these votes were quite strong, United Teachers of Los Angeles voted by 98% to authorize a strike. In Seattle, however, the Seattle Education Association (SEA) held a strike authorization vote, but concluded negotiations without actually striking.
TransCanada says it has signed project agreements with all 20 indigenous communities along its Coastal GasLink pipeline route from Northeast B.C. to Kitimat.
Support for the agreements comes from both traditional and hereditary leaders in the communities, the company said in a news release Thursday.
“This is an important milestone for the Coastal GasLink team,” Rick Gateman, president of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project, said in a statement.
