Back | Programme Area: Environmental and Climate Justice
Working-Class Environmentalism and Just Transition Struggles in the Americas
Date: 22 Mar 2022
This session zooms in on questions of alliance building and seeking common ground in three case studies on working-class environmentalism. The case of Ecuador shows that workers’ struggles are not limited to areas typically examined by labour studies, but include struggles of Indigenous peoples and agricultural workers. Our Brazil case study analyses agrarian protest and resistance against environmental degradation, examining the role of faith and religious institutions in enabling resistance through teaching and connecting individuals to social movements. Finally, the example of Canada showcases the challenges of coalition building among different stakeholder groups by comparing a worker-focused approach with a more inclusive campaign for just transition. The session will illustrate the diverse challenges of working-class environmentalism and explore strengths and challenges of environmental labour mobilizations for a just transition. → Register here
Speakers
- Connecting Individual Trajectories and Resistance Movements in Brazil
Beatriz Leandro (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo), co-authored with Patricia Viera Trópia and Nora Räthzel
- A Just Transition for All? A Debate on the Limits and Potentials of a Just Transition in Canada
Bruno Dobrusin (International Transport Workers’ Federation)
- The Role of Ecuadorian Working-Class Environmentalism in Promoting Environmental Justice: An Overview of the Hydrocarbon and Agricultural Sectors
Sara Latorre (Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Ecuador)
Discussant: Edouard Morena (University of London Institute in Paris)
Moderator: Dunja Krause (UNRISD)
This webinar is hosted by UNRISD. It is part of the series Nature, Labour and the Struggle for an Eco-Social World, co-organized by the Center for Environmental Justice at Colorado State University, the Global Labour University (GLU), the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), and the University of São Paulo. The ETUI is financially supported by the EU.
