Just transition at ETI

Last week The Guardian newspaper published results from a survey conducted with the world’s leading climate scientists. The insights make for sobering reading. 

80% of the IPCCC scientists that responded believe we are heading towards at least 2.5 degrees Celsius of warming. The urgent need for a green transition has never been clearer.  In 2022 ETI launched a new strategy with just transitions at its heart.  This blog provides an update on what a just transition means, why it is important, and how we are approaching it at ETI.

What?

Just transition has its origins in the trade union movement: it is both an outcome and a process.  The ILO defines it as “Greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind”.  A fairer, green economy which is inclusive and offers decent work opportunities, is the outcome. The process includes a very deliberate strategy to place ‘social dialogue’ with workers at its heart.

Why?

Calls for a just transition get louder at each annual climate conference, and the climate crisis provides the backdrop to current efforts towards a just transition.  The earth’s climate is becoming less predictable and extreme weather events more severe and more frequent.  In the UK for example, after the wettest 18 months on record, we’re seeing warnings around agricultural productivity, with big implications for local food production, and knock-on effects on prices and work opportunities.  Meanwhile our colleagues in Bangladesh, and elsewhere in south and south-east Asia are facing a period of extreme heat, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, far higher than what is expected for this time of year.  The dangers these kind of temperatures pose for both outdoor workers and indoor workers in environments with inadequate cooling are potentially life threatening.

So, the era of climate crisis is upon us.  In his opening remarks at 2022’s COP in Egypt, Antonio Guterrez memorably captured both the gravity of the situation and the paucity of the global response when he said: “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator”.  But is the urgency of this situation compatible with a just transition that has social dialogue at its heart? 

ETI’s answer is an unequivocal yes.  Firstly, workers have a right to be part of decision-making that affects them. Workers are key stakeholders in all economies.  Secondly, not only do workers have rights, they are also a source of knowledge on what changes need to be made and how these need to be implemented.  And thirdly, whilst social dialogue does require time and therefore resources, making this investment up front is much less costly than trying to address impacts after the event – impacts such as alienation or resistance, and potentially even work stoppages, attrition, and supply chain disruption.  Prevention is nearly always more cost-effective than cure. 

It's also important to emphasise that throughout this inclusion is essential to a just transition.  Over 40% of the world’s agricultural workers, and nearly 60% of garment workers are women.  As asserted by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the trailblazing US supreme court judge, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made” and evidence demonstrates that more inclusive decision-making arrives at better decisions. 

Why ETI?

But what has all this got to do with ETI?  ETI exists to advocate for the most vulnerable workers: “Through collaboration and innovation, ETI works to drive engagement, challenge barriers to change and ensure respect for human rights at work.”   Just transition is central pillar of our current strategy, but we’re not an environmental organisation nor do we have many members from emerging industries such as renewable energy.  However, the evidence is mounting that the climate crisis is also a human rights crisis, and that includes workers.  Extreme heat impacts workers’ right to ‘safe and hygienic working conditions’.  Unseasonable weather patterns impact the availability and predictability of agricultural work: falling incomes risk drawing children out of education and into work to support families.  Meanwhile the World Bank estimates that by 2050 there may be over 200 million climate migrants globally, and as explained by ETI NGO members Anti-Slavery International, many may be at risk of modern slavery.

In addition, key sectors represented by ETI’s members are major contributors to, but also highly impacted by climate change.  Agriculture is the second largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, emitting 20-30% , and fashion is also a major contributor at around 10% of emissions.  At the same time, we know that these sectors are also highly vulnerable to the climate crisis.  We’ve mentioned impacts on agriculture above, but recent research from Cornell University found the RMG sector in just four key production countries risks losing $65 billion in 2030 due to the impacts of flooding and extreme heat.

Finally, as described above, ‘social dialogue’ with workers is central and foundational to a just transition.  As a member organisation with members and a governance board that includes business, civil society, and trade unions, ETI is well placed to both ensure this component is integrated throughout efforts, and to demonstrate what it looks like in practice.

How is ETI approaching just transitions?

ETI’s focus within just transitions efforts, is very much tied to our mission as an organisation that stands for the human rights of workers in global supply chains.  It can be distilled down to two complementary components.  Firstly, understanding and mitigating impacts on the human rights of workers that are caused or exacerbated by the climate crisis.  Secondly, understanding and mitigating any potential impacts on the human rights of workers that arise from businesses own climate action.  With respect to the latter, many of our members have net zero targets, environmental policies, or climate strategies.  But these haven’t always been examined from a human rights lens.  We aim to champion and support that activity.

Throughout all our work, will be a focus on ensuring and supporting processes of social dialogue. For example, ETI Bangladesh has for several years been leading a ‘Green social dialogue’ programme with garment factories. Supported by training and guidance from ETI, factory management and worker representatives are working collaboratively to evaluate potential changes that can be made to reduce the climate impact of their workplaces and green their industry.  It sounds relatively straightforward, but this is potentially a radical shift within an industry that is highly hierarchical and in which communication between workers and management is often tense and brief. As our brilliant Trade Union Coordinator Steve Craig helpfully reminds us, “everything starts with a conversation”.