Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Poverty:

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Sustainable Development, Climate Change and
Poverty A Trade Union Response Helene
Davis-Whyte on behalf of the Caribbean Sub-region
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Sustainable Development

• development that meets the needs of
• the present without compromising the
• ability of future generations to meet
• their own needs."
• Sustainable development implies
• economic growth together with the
• protection of environmental quality,
• each reinforcing the other.
• The World Commission on Environment and
  Development (1987)

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An important element

• Sustainable development is a key cross-cutting
  element.
• All aspects of our work and lives must be
  examined in the light and context of sustainable
  development
• Our national plans and development agendas must
  of necessity include the goal of sustainable
  development

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The Three Pillars
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The Social Pillar

• Social To have a sustainable future, the people
  must have equal and equitable access to their
  basic needs
• Access to high quality medical care and social
  services, decent housing, food, sanitation
• Peoples desire for as high a standard of living
  as possible must be achieved in a way that does
  not harm or exploit others.
• i.e. Quality Public Services

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The Economic Pillar

• The generation of wealth through economic
  activity is necessary to attain a high standard
  of living.
• Sustainable economies also need to be competitive
  and there must be fair distribution of wealth.
  
• Products that are too expensive to purchase
  cannot be sustainable, even if they are
  environmentally friendly.

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The Environmental Pillar

• Sustainable human activities must strive to
  protect the earths environment to make sure it
  is not damaged for future generations.
• Current issues include global warming climate
  change, over-fishing, pollution, deforestation,
  land use policies

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International Recognition of Special
Circumstances of SIDS

• Special circumstances and needs of Small Island
  Developing States must be considered

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Impact of Climate Change on Small Island
Developing States (SIDS)

• SIDS account for less than 1 of Green House Gas
  emissions but are among the most vulnerable to
  the potentially adverse effects of climate change
  and sea level rise.
• The Caribbean is already experiencing the impact
  of climate change Multiple Category 5
  hurricanes, coral bleaching, extreme heat,
  flooding, active volcanoes, more earthquakes

more than half of the worlds population
currently live within 100 kilometres of the
coast, and by 2025 it is estimated that 6.3
billion persons, (75 of the worlds population)
will live in the coastal zone, in coastal mega
cities, and many living in poverty (UNESCO
2001)
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SIDS - Observed Climate Trends

• High Temperatures (mean annual values of 20C
  and above)
• Annual average temperatures have increased by
  over O.5 for the period 1900-1995
• Declining trend in average annual rainfall
  (250mm)
• Increasing numbers and intensity of tropical
  storms and cyclones (26 named storms in 2005)
• Sea-level rise (10 SIDS are approx. 1 metre above
  sea-level. Sea level rise for the Caribbean is
  expected to be 30-50 cm over the next 50 years

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Vulnerabilities of SIDS

• Economic
• Isolation from large markets limited or small
  internal markets
• Limited commodities high dependence on imports
• Small population ? lower tax base
• High dependence on import duties
• High vulnerability to external economic shocks

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Vulnerabilities of SIDS (contd)

• Social
• Migration of workers
• Increase in crime
• Uneven distribution of wealth
• Less investment in public health
• Less investment on social services
• Less investment on infrastructure (roads, public
  utilities )

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Vulnerabilities of SIDS (contd)

• Environmental
• Small Size
• High vulnerability to Natural Disasters
  (hurricanes, cyclones, drought, landslides,
  flooding, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes)
  hurricane season lasts for 6 months
• Fragility of ecosystems (coral reefs, wetlands,
  fresh water, coasts, forests, soils)
• Limited natural resources depletion of
  non-renewable resources

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Climate change and SIDS Sectors Affected

• Water Resources (change in soil moisture,
  siltation and contamination of water supplies)
• Agriculture (reduction in soil moisture
  decrease in crop yield, sea water intrusion for
  coastal soils)
• Fisheries (habitat loss)
• Infrastructure Settlements More than 50 of
  people live and work within 2 km of the coast.
  (Caribbean SIDS are more vulnerable to and are
  more affected by natural disasters.)

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Climate change and SIDS Sectors Affected
(contd)

• Tourism (largest contribution to GDP) hotels
  are destroyed by hurricanes, foreign investors
  leave after hurricanes
• Human Health - (heat strokes, vectorborne
  diseases malaria, dengue, yellow fever)
• Financial Sector (lends to debt creation and
  impact on ability to invest)

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Selected Hurricanes in theCaribbean and their
impact 1988-2005
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Grenada after Hurricane Ivan
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Public Sector Unions concerns

• Current model of development
• is socially unfair
• is environmentally unsustainable
• excludes a large portion of the population,
• increases economic disparities,
• erodes workers hard won rights
• worsens conditions for workers and their families
• After 20 years of pro-privatisation policies, the
  world is neither a better nor a fairer place.
• The gap between rich and poor has widened and 54
  countries are poorer than they were in 1990.
  There are many examples of privatisation failing,
  particularly in water and energy services. 
• The sectors most affected are those which are
  vital to the economic and social development. For
  the most part they are public services

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Our concerns

• People in Caribbean countries are struggling to
  maintain their livelihoods. Trade liberalisation
  in particular has had a devastating effect on all
  people.
• Storm damage to agricultural crops makes life
  even harder
• Public services are in greater demand after a
  natural disaster (relief services, public health,
  utilities, infrastructure, housing)
• Public sector workers have to be able to respond
  quickly in such situations in many cases
  leaving their own families while having to assist
  others
• Limited resources have to be re-directed
• Urgent pressure to get economies back on track
  after a storm

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The MDGs

• Poverty Eradication
• Universal Primary Education
• Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women
• Reduction of Child Mortality
• Improvement in Maternal Health
• Combating HIV/AIDS and Other Diseases
• Environmental Sustainability
• Global Partnership for Development

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Sustainable Development and the MDGs

• 8 goals 18 targets 48 indicators of
  achievement
• First seven are mutually reinforcing, directed at
  reducing poverty
• Last goal addresses framework needed to achieve
  the others
• In the Caribbean context, some of the targets
  relating to specific goals will need to be
  modified to take account of the particular
  realities of the countries in the sub-region.
  This is particularly so in the case of primary
  education, gender equality and women's
  empowerment and environmental sustainability.

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What Can Unions Do?

• Environmentally sustainable development - not
  only technical matter but also an organisational
  process
• Therefore has to be undertaken by social
  partners, not only scientific bodies
• Unions experience in negotiations, organising,
  collective bargaining and campaigning in areas
  such as human rights, womens rights, safety and
  health issues, etc equip unions for new
  consensus-forming process.

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What Can Unions do?

• Unions actions may be taken at 4 levels-
• In unions
• Educate members about linkages between
  sustainable development and their livelihoods.
  Include the topic in trade union
  courses/workshops ,
• ensure that unions buildings and work practices
  meet standards of environmental sustainability
• Workplace
• include environmental issues in collective
  bargaining and in health and safety
  practices/policies

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What Can Unions Do?

• National/ policy level
• influence government/ national policies and
  monitoring their impact
• Build alliances with community groups (nationally
  and regionally) that work on sustainable
  development issues
• Be in genuine partnership and sit at the table
  with other members of civil society on
  sustainable development issues
• Regional and International level
• push for implementation of Action Plan 2002
  (this was developed at the World Summit of
  Sustainable Development)

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Action Plan 2002

• Poverty eradication
• Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption
  and production
• Protecting and managing the natural resource base
  of economic and social development
• Sustainable development in a globalising world .
• Health and sustainable development
• Sustainable development of Small Island
  Developing States

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Action Plan 2002

• Sustainable development for Africa, Latin America
  and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, Europe
• Means of implementation
• Institutional framework for sustainable
  development
• Role of the General Assembly, Economic and Social
  Council,Commission on Sustainable Development,
  international institutions
• Participation of major groups

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Action Plan 2002

• Biodiversity and fishing
• drastically reduce the number of endangered
  species by 2010. Restore fish stocks by 2015.
• Climate change
• countries that have not yet ratified Kyoto
  Protocol to do so.
• Trade, globalisation and the WTO
• subsidies to be withdrawn from industries that
  are harmful to the environment.
• need for consistency between environmental
  policies and the WTO.

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Action Plan 2002

• Water and sanitation
• Halve the number of people who do not have access
  to safe drinking water or sanitation facilities
  by 2015.
• Renewable energy
• substantial increase in the proportion of
  renewable energy used.
• Poverty
• creation of a new international fund to eradicate
  poverty, with funding coming from voluntary
  contributions.

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Things to think about

• How can we sharpen our focus on sustainable
  development in the PSI policy programme?
• How do we track our countries progress in
  achieving the MDGs by our countries?
• How do we ensure that our unions are involved in
  this?
• How do we work with NGOs on sustainable
  development?
• How do we ensure that our members become agents
  of change in their communities?

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Thank you! Any questions?
For copies of this presentation, please send an
email to Helene Davis-Whyte hdaviswhyte_at_yahoo.co
m Dylan Reneau dylan.reneau_at_gmail.com