*insist on equitable climate financing, technology transfer, others
By Michael Oche
Trade union representatives from Africa and Latin America at the ongoing COP30 conference holdinf in Belem Brazil, have insisted on a just and equitable climate transition, rejecting what they describe as “green colonialism” and demanding that climate action respects the rights and development needs of the Global South.
The call is contained in a joint statement jointly signed by ITUC-Africa General Secretary Akhator Joel Odigie and General Secretary of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), Rafael Freire.
The unions said the global south cannot and will not bear a disproportionate burden for a climate crisis they did not create.
While affirming commitment to the global climate agenda and the necessary transition to a low-carbon, sustainable, and resilient future, the unions said this transition cannot replicate the historical injustices and inequalities of the current global economic system.
“A “just transition” must be just that: fair, equitable, and inclusive for all. Our regions are not mere victims of climate change; we are agents of change, custodians of a significant share of the world’s biodiversity, forests, and mineral resources, which are essential for the environmentally sustainable technologies of the future,” the statement noted.
It added that, “Let us build a transition that goes beyond simply abandoning fossil fuels and leads us towards a fairer, more equitable, and more prosperous world for all.”
TUCA and ITUC-AFRICA insisted that the transition must recognize the right of global South to sustainable development and energy sovereignty, noting that it must have the policy space to address energy poverty, expand access to energy for our growing populations, and boost our economies.
They noted that existing climate finance pledges have fallen short, saying that the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities requires that those suffering the effects of the climate crisis, especially in the global South, receive fair compensation for the high impacts on their populations.
“Financing for adaptation and transition cannot become a new cycle of debt or the imposition of market solutions that perpetuate colonial dependence and favor transnational corporations. We demand a fundamental reform of the global financial architecture,” the statement noted.
The unions therefore demanded that a just transition requires: dramatically increased climate finance, based on grants and highly concessional, commensurate with the magnitude of the challenge; simplified and democratized access to funds, removing the heavy bureaucratic obstacles that exclude the most vulnerable nations and addressing the devastating debt crisis that limits our fiscal space for climate action.
“We call for debt-for-climate swaps, debt suspension clauses triggered by climate disasters, and new long-term, low-interest lending instruments. We reiterate that none of these mechanisms can be used to deepen dependency or impede the sovereign development of our nations,”
On technology transfer and capacity building, TUCA and ITUC-AFRICA insist that a transition driven solely by imported technology is neither sustainable nor fair; saying it deepens debt and creates greater dependency.
They further demanded for frameworks for the voluntary and accessible transfer of environmentally sustainable technologies, known as “green technologies,” including exemptions for critical technologies in times of global emergency.
“We must move from being exporters of raw materials to creators of value and decent work within our continents.”
