TUC backs motion calling for investment in climate resilience
The motion also condemned "the increase in anti-net zero rhetoric being exhibited by populist parties such as Reform UK"
Trade unionists are gathering in Brighton this week at the annual TUC Congress. At the Congress, delegates have been debating the trade union movement’s position on major political and economic issues.
High on the agenda has been the climate emergency and its impact on workers. On Tuesday 15 September, delegates backed a motion calling for increased investment in climate resilience.
The motion called for the TUC to campaign for “government investment to make critical infrastructure, schools, hospitals and public transport, climate resilient, inclusive of reversing cuts to maintenance and renewals budgets on the railways”.
Alongside this, the motion also called for the introduction of a maximum working temperature, funding for the installation of solar panels on all public buildings, and funding for “community hubs in public spaces with active cooling measures to offer refuge in extreme heat and shelter from the cold in winter”.
Elsewhere, the motion condemned “the increase in anti-net zero rhetoric being exhibited by populist parties such as Reform UK and the impact such policies would have on the climate”, arguing that this would lead “to more extreme temperatures and ultimately the worsening of working conditions and job losses”.
As a result, the motion committed the TUC to “continue to publicly call out the dangers of climate change denial and the anti-net zero rhetoric, with a focus on the impact such policies will have on workers.”
The motion was proposed by the National Education Union.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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