The role of labour and nature within just transition strategies

The term through which to speak about trade union’s environmental policies these days is Just Transition. As with any term that enters the public discourse, the more it is used, the less it means. We will first outline the major turning points of the history of the idea of just transition (avant la lettre) in trade unions across the globe. In a second part we discuss some of the environmental policies of trade unions in the global north and south which go beyond ideas of a “technological fix” and the reduction of CO2 emissions only including problems of water, soil and biodiversity. The third part provides a critical assessment of these policies arguing that given the limits of natural resources, policies need to provide an alternative to green growth and include shop floor in the development of just transition strategies.