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The climate crisis impacts workers and their communities in a multitude of ways. Flooding, drought and extreme weather events push workers to migrate, often into low-wage jobs under dangerous conditions. Workers in highly polluting industries face the dual impacts of occupational health and safety hazards and environmental degradation, both of which put their families and communities at risk. Marginalized workers—including minority populations, workers with disabilities, women, youth, migrants and workers in the informal economy—are already experiencing some of the worst impacts of climate change and are often excluded from decision-making processes. Workers and their unions are uniquely positioned to help build a global climate justice movement, bolstered by their support from, and participation in, broad-based coalitions as well as long-term experience in people-centered policy and legislative advocacy in their respective countries. As governments and industries plan to transition to cleaner alternatives, workers and their unions must have a meaningful say in the process to ensure that a greener economy is also one that protects worker rights and advances decent work. The needs of workers and their communities must be at the center of climate-responsive policies and practices, including in designing a fair or just transition to a more equitable and sustainable economy as a way to mitigate the impacts of climate change and enable adaptation for impacted communities.
Our Approach
The Solidarity Center recognizes that addressing the climate crisis is critical to ensuring decent work and a strong labor movement in the future. In response, the Solidarity Center supports workers and their unions to:
Our Programs Solidarity Center initiatives to advance climate justice include:
A community that makes its livelihood from the Amazon is standing up to the Brazilian government that, without consulting the people most affected, is on the verge of undertaking a blasting and dredging project along a river waterway that would destroy their...
A new internal Solidarity Center survey finds that, although Bangladesh claims the global lead in eco-friendly ready-made garment (RMG) manufacturing, government officials, factory owners and global fashion brands are not adequately addressing unhealthy working...
The ILAW Network is pleased to release reports on the regulation of telework in Mauritius and South Africa. The reports examine the impact of telework on a range of worker rights topics, including the regulation of atypical work, access to health and safety measures,...
The ILAW Network is pleased to release reports on the regulation of telework in Mauritius and South Africa. The reports examine the impact of telework on a range of worker rights topics, including the regulation of atypical work, access to health and safety measures,...
The ILAW Network has undertaken a research series on telework in Europe and Central Asia. National reports examining the regulation of telework in Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine examine the impact of telework on a range of worker rights issues, including work hours and...
The ILAW Network has undertaken a research series on telework in Europe and Central Asia. National reports examining the regulation of telework in Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine examine the impact of telework on a range of worker rights issues, including work hours and...
The ILAW Network has undertaken a research series on telework in Europe and Central Asia. National reports examining the regulation of telework in Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine examine the impact of telework on a range of worker rights issues, including work hours and...
This report is an update to the original Taken for a Ride Issue Brief, released in March of 2021. Download it in English or Spanish.