Actions were the order of the day in Baku; anti-war, pro-finance, pro-just transition, anti-nuclear (although I also spotted a pro-nuclear protest…but there were very few in attendance at this one).
Having started the day with a cold shower thanks to no hot water in the hotel, I was up and ready for this!
Many new faces arrived with more union reps flying in as the days go by, all tasked with sending messages and meeting government delegations with the latest requests on amending the proposed texts for the various work streams- article 6 of the Paris agreement, the Just Transition Work Programme (which is becoming plans for the meetings about the work programme rather than the programme itself), the Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs although they’re not transparent apparently, so actually “BR”s), the Global Stocktake (which is turning into a stocktake of a stocktake) and the New Collective Quanified Goal on finance (which has gone into the “informal informals” (into a room with no observers).
And every so often one of us makes an intervention to the ministers.
During our meeting an email reply came through from the UK delegation and I have to say, Tony and I were sooooo excited as that’s the first time there has been an actual reply from a UK government at COP for over 15 years! We then received a daily written report on the positions of the different countries and the UK interventions had been positive and included suggestions around workers’ rights, just transition, collective bargaining and human rights.
But many countries, as we know, are not arguing this way and all are falling short of pledging the trillions needed to solve the crisis. So we took to the designated action area ourselves and called once again for trillions not billions:
Guess what? They must have heard us because along came Kerry McCarthy MP, under secretary of state for climate for the UK government! We took the opportunity to have a chat about just transition, climate finance, enhanced redundancies and redundancy that is protected when new jobs are found but are on lower pay or that involve relocation.
Before heading to the coffee area to sit on the floor and send Ed and Kerry’s team several emails, I paused to take in the multi-faith action for peace and nature.
Back in the Just Transition pavilion I attended a presentation from Somalian union reps and government ministers. The government of Somalia have put their words into action. The Ministry of Labour have worked with the Ministry of Climate Change, the trade unions and employers to agree a just transition policy which will affect everyone and, as the minister stated, “We are ready to go, we just need the climate finance to be agreed at this COP”. Well done comrade Omar from Somalia for his successful collective bargaining!
As has been explained by every speech maker at every action this year, THE MONEY IS THERE. Trillions were found globally when the pandemic hit. And billions every day are spent on war and conflict. And there are millions and millions of unpaid taxes thanks to loopholes for the superrich. The money needs to be claimed and targeted for climate finance NOW!
After describing to us their experience of ongoing droughts made worse by climate change, and the resulting food insecurity, the Somalian minister expressed it this way: “they talk talk talk…COP 27, COP 28, COP 29 and it will be COP 30….we need action”. In fact someone suggested later that the money spent on flights, hotels and the venue alone could go a long way to getting there…
What a delight after this to hear from young people from all over the world and to join in their protest alongside my good friend Darren from Uganda:
They may be young but most have been forced, through their lived experiences, to make the links between conflict, fossil fuels, finance and the way the world is run, which is most definitely not in their interests…
Darren and I found a space on the ever more crowded floor so that she could interview me for her blog and newsletters on climate education. After that we sat and shared sandwiches and fruit and discussed our lives and countries. Here is a snapshot of Darren’s experience in Uganda as an investigative journalist and human rights activist; we sometimes think we are brave when we take on people’s issues as trade unionists but when you hear Darren’s stories you start to understand what the word “brave” really means:
Youth Activism in Uganda: An Interview with Darren Namatovu | The Forge
After our meeting I headed to the UK pavilion for a free coffee with Tony, fellow TUC delegate from UNISON UK. We had planned to send out a picture from COP 29 to support the campaign for Truth About Zane – Truth About Zane; this is a campaign both our unions are affiliated to as we believe that it is vital the truth is known about exactly how a flood close to an old landfill site resulted in the death of eight year old Zane and severe injuries to Kye, his Dad. Such floods will become more common as climate change intensifies and we all want to try to prevent such deaths and injuries.
The pavilion staff got a little bit edgy when we leaned on their counter to write our impromptu placard so we took our little mini protest elsewhere:
We will not be silenced and we WILL help this family to pursue their fight for justice, supported by many other organisations, including the Fire Brigades Union who were present at the time of the flood, and the TUC.
And whilst on the theme of action not words, this guy (a professor at the LSE) popped up on the TV here last night and appears to have been imprisoned in the COP 29 host country for making a bit of a fuss about their reliance on fossil fuels. Please sign the petition to release him!
Well that was it for today, apart from a little walk through the dark city streets taking my life into my hands every time we crossed a road (drivers here only stop at red lights if they really want to, ie not every time)- we did eventually get a pizza- close to this mystery palace that I cannot find marked anywhere on any map!
For lots more stories from our time at COP, remember to check out Tony’s blog too at: SusTonybility
faircop 
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