In 2024, the TUC voted to back a Year of Trade Union Climate Action, engaging with community and climate justice groups. It will kick off this autumn, with a key moment of global solidarity in November during the UN climate negotiations, COP30, in Brazil. We want active support from as many national trade unions as possible – but a really powerful year of action can only be built from the grassroots up.

Latest updates

Video and notes from our meeting on 7 May, 'The Climate Crisis is a Working Class Issue: Building a Year of Trade Union Action' here

The TUC Trades Councils conference has passed a motion asking all Trades Councils to coordinate and organise networks and actions in their area during the year of action.

From UCU: "At #UCU2025 we passed a vital motion backing a year of trade union climate action, starting autumn 2025. We’re embedding climate justice into our union work. Because climate justice is union business." (climate motions p12-13 here)

PCS conference has passed a motion instructing the NEC to bring climate issues to the forefront of the union's activity and to support a year of trade union climate action.

BFAWU Executive have agreed to actively support the year of climate action, in line with other motions and climate-related policy already passed, including support for Heat Strike campaign.

NEU conference has passed a climate motion including a commitment to support members in organising workplace events during the year of action (full text on p3 of the latest Greener Jobs Alliance newsletter)

Campaign resources page (logos and flyers)

It needs all of us

Trade unions need to stand up for our class. All workers, their families and communities are at risk from extreme temperatures and weather events, and global food shortages. We also have essential knowledge about how to build a better, safer future: a public transport system accessible to all, training young people, protecting nature, growing food, and securing a just transition for workers in high carbon sectors, moving towards public ownership of key sectors like energy.

This is a social justice issue

Those who are already losing lives and livelihoods to climate breakdown have done the least to cause the problem. In the UK, as elsewhere, the worst impacts will fall on the disabled, elderly and young, racialised people and those on the lowest incomes. We need to stand together in global solidarity with workers and communities around the world, while demanding climate solutions that help those most in need here in the UK.

The market can’t solve this

We’ve seen the failures of relying on privatisation and market solutions. We need climate jobs; investment in renewable energy and home insulation as the only way to get energy bills down and keep them down; we need to move towards public ownership and democratic control of energy and other crucial services. What we don’t need is another decade of austerity.

Making our voices heard

The ultra-wealthy and corporate media claim to speak for working people but are only interested in lining their pockets. They want to scrap regulations that protect workers, keep our air and water clean and tackle climate change. We can only oppose them successfully by coming together and organising, within our workplaces, across sectors, and in communities, raising our voices to demand action.