Climate change, the largest single threat to current and future generations, is posing fundamental challenges for public services and public service workers. In recent years, we have seen extreme weather events, flooding and forest fires for example, leading to loss of life and widespread damage and destruction of buildings and infrastructure. Our members across many services have been part of the immediate and longer term response – in emergency and rescue services, energy and water, local and regional government. EPSU has been working hard to influence policies at global and European level aimed at decarbonising our economies and calling for a shift away from growth at all costs. It is essential that we achieve a more sustainable society is achieved through a just transition whereby no one is left behind.
This briefing, produced for EPSU's 2019 Congress, sets out the federation's recent activity on climate change and current priorities. EPSU has published research focusing on some of the key issues and policy developments including its position on the EU's Green Deal, the failure of energy liberalisation to address climate change and an analysis of action on climate change adaptation.
On 24 October, Honduras became the 50th UN Member State to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which means the treaty will now come into force on 22 January.
The newly published Guide for Trade Unionists on Adaptation to Climate Change and the world of work identifies public utilities and emergency and other public services as two of the sectors in the EU to be most impacted by climate change.
The European Commission has awarded BlackRock Investment Management a consultancy contract to advise on the integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks into EU banking rules, and into banks’ business and investment strategies.
Challenging consensus on the use of market-based solutionsto fight climate breakdown. The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) welcomes the Green Deal proposed by the European Commission as a holistic response to the climate emergency.
(27 February 2020) On 26th February, EPSU held its biannual Standing Committee (SC) on Utilities, bringing together EPSU affiliates from across Europe. The key elements addressed during this meeting were
