FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Baku, Azerbaijan – Over 100 trade unions representing tens of millions of workers across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean are uniting to launch a powerful statement demanding a major shift in climate finance and climate action at COP29.
In a historic call to action, these unions are advocating for a pivot away from “privatize to decarbonize” policies toward a “public pathway” that places people, the planet, and public ownership of energy and other vital services at the center of climate solutions.
The launch event will take place at 9:30 am on Tuesday, November 19, in the Blue Zone’s Press Conference - Natavan, Area D, where union leaders and representatives will speak about the necessity for a just transition, grounded in equity and the Global North’s responsibility to fund climate action in the Global South.
Read the full statement here:
The statement has been endorsed by prominent trade union bodies such as the International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC) regional bodies in Asia and Africa;the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), and Public Services International (PSI). National trade union centers from Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Chile, Gabon, Indonesia, Kenya, Korea, Nepal, Niger, the Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa have also registered their support.
The statement calls for an annual commitment of $5 trillion in public, debt-free climate finance to support the Global South. It further urges the UNFCCC to adopt a “public pathway” to climate action, rejecting market mechanisms like carbon offsets and blended finance schemes that often deepen inequality.
This landmark launch event is a unifying call from organized labor in the Global South for climate resilience rooted in justice, equity and public accountability. The coalition’s presence at COP29 serves as a powerful reminder that effective climate solutions must prioritize the needs of communities over corporate profits, and finance must be directed towards a “reclaim and restore” approach to vital public services. Media representatives are invited to attend the launch event in the Blue Zone’s Press Room to hear directly from union leaders and representatives.
This initiative is led by Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED), in partnership with the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), PowerShift Africa, and War on Want.
Martha Tinny Molema, President, ITUC Africa:
“The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) represents 17 million workers across 101 affiliated trade union centers, and we support the call for COP29 to adopt a new approach to climate finance, one that is debt-free and grant based. At our 5th Congress a year ago, ITUC Africa endorsed the “Reclaim and Restore” approach to public energy utilities, so they can resume their historic role in our continent’s journey away from energy poverty and are fully equipped to face the challenges of energy transition.”
Solly Phetoe, General Secretary, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU):
"Workers in the Global South are calling for a fresh approach to addressing the climate crisis, one that reclaims and restores vital public services such as energy and transport. COSATU supports the public pathway alternative to the "privatise to decarbonise" agenda of the rich countries. Climate finance should not incur more debt; it should rebuild our basic infrastructure so we can better cope with climate change and ensure a truly just transition."
C. José Humberto Montes de Oca Luna, Secretario del Exterior, Mexican Electrician’s Union (SME):
My union fully supports the reclaim and restore approach to the energy transition, because the current “privatise to decarbonise” model is not producing either the investment finance necessary to address climate change, and years of neoliberal policies have decimated our public services. We support the President of the Republic, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo’s bold efforts to defend Mexico’s energy sovereignty by reestablishing our national energy companies, CFE (electricity) and PEMEX (oil and gas) as public utilities. This is being approached from a sustainable perspective that incorporates a public and social pathway for a fair and sovereign energy transition.
Ozzie Warwick, Oilfields Workers' Trade Union (OWTU) Trinidad and Tobago & Secretary to the Joint Trade Union Movement:
"In Trinidad and Tobago, there is no just transition on the agenda. We have already seen the impact of neoliberal privatisation, and now these policies are being pushed in the name of saving the planet. We are deeply concerned about climate change, but the “international community” needs to come to terms with the fact that coal, oil and gas use is higher than at any point in history. We want climate finance to compensate for the damage caused by the rich countries’ emissions, but also to allow for a managed phase down of fossil fuels based on the UNFCCC principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities."
SungHee Oh, Director of International Affairs, Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU):
"South Korea is taking a market-based approach to energy transition, as it does to all other public services. With 28 coal-fired power plants due to close by the end of 2025, the government is likely to replace them with private renewables. That is why the trade union movement, in coalition with the progressive climate justice movement, has been fighting for the reintegration of our public energy companies to drive an energy transition to public renewables based on social ownership and democratic control. With this campaign for public renewables, we will fight to protect jobs in the power sector and public utilities to secure people's right to energy with a public way forward."
Luke Espiritu, president, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino
“Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino stands with millions in the Global South demanding climate justice. The imperialist Global North must pay for its historical responsibility. While they polluted and exploited, the South faces worsening disasters like typhoons, droughts, and floods. We call for $5 trillion annually in reparations—not loans or aid—and a just, rapid transition from fossil fuels. No climate justice without reparations!”
Abigail Almeria, President of Alliance of Government Workers in the Water Sector (AGWWAS), Indonesia
“The water sector is very much vulnerable to the impact of climate change. As a trade union representing the workers in the water sector in the Philippines, we raise serious concerns on the declining human rights to water and sanitation. The rapid privatization of water districts is a direct result of corporate greed and preferential access of Multinational Corporations to climate finance that undermine the right of people to quality public water services!”
Asad Rehman, Executive Director of War on Want
“The demands of the Global South are not requests -- they are urgent, non-negotiable truths. True climate finance must be public, debt-free, and rooted in justice. We’ve had enough of empty promises at UN Climate Summits which leave workers and communities paying the price of climate breakdown while the crisis deepens. We stand in solidarity with Global South unions raising their voice for a public pathway approach to a just transition.”
Irene HongPing Shen, Lead Organizer of TUED
“Over 100 million workers of the Global South are represented by the signatories of this statement. As the climate crisis grows, the global community has the opportunity to move toward global cooperation and internationalism by supporting these demands. While the $5 trillion annual demand does not erase the history of imperialist violence and devastation enacted by the Global North on the Global South, done right, it has the potential to assist Global South governments to rebuild their capacities to reclaim and restore their public electricity and transport sectors. This public pathway approach can address energy poverty and technology transfers both critical as we tackle decarbonization and build resilience. There’s no time to waste, solidarity with Global South unions now!”
About Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED)
Founded in 2012, Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a growing global network of 130+ unions and close allies in 40 countries working to advance democratic control and public ownership of energy in ways that promote solutions to the climate crisis, address energy poverty, promote energy sovereignty, resist the degradation of both land and people and respond to attacks on workers' rights and protections. TUED South is a trade union platform within the TUED network dedicated to a "Public Pathway" approach to a just energy transition in the Global South. The South-led trade union platform focuses on strengthening the Public Pathway alternative to the "privatise to decarbonise" agenda of the G7, IMF and World Bank.
TUEDglobal.org
@TUED_Global
About War on Want
War on Want is a charitable membership organisation of people committed to social justice. Our vision is a world free from poverty and oppression, based on social justice, equality and human rights for all. War on Want works in partnership with grassroots social movements, trade unions and workers’ organisations to empower people to fight for their rights. We run hard-hitting popular campaigns against the root causes of poverty and human rights violations.
Media Contacts:
Lala Peñaranda | Latin America - Trade Unions for Energy Democracy | lalatued [at] gmail.com
Esthappen S | Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice | estha.dcj [at] gmail.com
Julian Reingold | Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice | julianrq [at] gmail.com
Isabel Rodrigo | Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development | isabelperodrigo [at] gmail.com
.png)
