Union federations in the United States and Europe have condemned the decision of US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, which was concluded in 2015.
Richard Trumka, the head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), criticised Trump's decision as a "failure of American leadership.""Pulling out of the Paris climate agreement is a decision to abandon a cleaner future powered by good jobs," Mr Trumka said, in an official statement from the AFL-CIO.
Meanwhile, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) warned that there were "no jobs on a dead planet" and said the decision was "deeply disappointing" after years of negotiations. ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini reiterated the union demand for 'a just and fair transition.'
In addition, Leo W. Gerard, the International President of the United Steelworkers Union - the largest manufacturing union in the US - said that US workers wanted "a green economy, not a black environment." In an opinion piece for the Huffington Post, Gerard noted:
'the USW supports job creation. But the union believes clean air pays; clear water provides work. Engineers design smokestack scrubbers, skilled mechanics construct them and still other workers install them. Additional workers install insulation and solar panels. Untold thousands labor to make the steel and other parts for wind turbine blades, towers and nacelles, fabricate the structures and erect them."
