As we arrived at the COP, the daily newsletter from the Environmental NGOs was handed out as usual and contained a big article on the trade unions’ call for a Just Transition with workers’ rights at its core. Collaborations with the other civil society organisations has been really effective this year- that’s where the proposed “BAM” comes from (see previous BAM post!).

Meanwhile we had messages coming in from the UK reps at War on Want, wanting to collaborate with us, and our 9am TUNGO meeting included other reps from rights based groups that we’re also working with. Groups are coming together to push for the changes we need, and this is positive.

My first destination after this was to visit the Green Zone which, this year, is a totally vibrant place, choc a bloc with local Brazilians, Amazonian people and others, offering inked tattoos, selling locally made jewellery and joining in public debates designed to amplify voices not always heard.

My reason for visiting was to speak at a UNESCO event in the Amazonian universities’ pavilion, to help launch the new Greening Education Partnership Climate Resilience Tool for Schools; education unions took a vital part in designing this and it would not have happened without educators’ voices; a good example of a just transition.

Arriving early, I was privileged to witness the room packed with Brazilian schoolchildren who were one by one delivering speeches on climate education, so well delivered (and all with no notes)- they are surely future world leaders. This is testament to the great work Brazil are doing on climate resilience and climate education, which I have heard about in several meetings.

Towards the end a huge line of security arrived with paparazzi and we all strained to see, and were told Brazil’s first lady had arrived to speak with the children.

Meanwhile, Tracey (my UNISON colleague) had been in a roundtable meeting with Katie White, Minister for Climate, and a number of businesses, where she put a very strong case for union recognition and trade union involvement in the energy sector. She had also attended the latest Just Transition negotiation meeting which included UK negotiators. The UK are currently stalling on the “BAM” but this is a work in progress…

Next up was the high level ministerial meeting on greening education which I attended alongside Sifiso, our Zimbabwean teacher rep, and Eliska, the UK youth champion. We heard that there is a shortage of teachers globally to the tune of 50 million and that wellbeing and safety of teachers is crucial. One speaker said that education is the cornerstone of a just transition. How annoying, then, that in 3 hours of meeting time we heard from government ministers, PISA, UNESCO and others but not from a single teacher. Sifiso was raring to go with a short presentation from the perspective of a teacher of 44 years but he was not called and there was not even time for questions.

“It’s a meeting for bureaucrats” said Sifiso.

It is worth noting, however, that Tania Ronualdo, the ambassador and permanent representative of Cabo Verde to the UN, delivered a speech worthy of any education union rep. She called for teacher exchanges, an overhaul of curriculums where teachers are involved in the design, training for teachers- online, in person and mentoring, with career progression as part of this to motivate teachers and the inclusion of trade unions. The context is that they recently experienced five hours of rain where more rain fell than the national average for the year. 10 people were killed including 4 children.

Added to this, a speaker from the Youth NGO stated that “none of this (climate education) is possible without teachers.

We are stronger together for sure.