The following resolution was adopted by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers Council meeting on 25 October 2020:
RESOLUTION TO AFFILIATE TO THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
At its AGM on 23 January 2020, the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers was inspired by its invited speakers for a lecture on System Change for Climate Justice (Richard Harvey, counsel for Greenpeace International and barrister, Garden Court Chambers, and Farhana Yamin, Track 0 CEO, climate lawyer and activist).
On 24 October 2020, the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers is holding a conference on ‘Hostile Environments’ where activists, academics and lawyers join in the fight for migrant and climate justice in solidarity against the racist and classist systems that stand in our way.
It will discuss the following topics:
- Yarls Wood and the Dublin Regulations crisis;
- The ongoing injustice against the Windrush generation and their families;
- Organising migrants in detention;
- Climate justice litigation;
- Climate migration;
- Fortress Britain/EU and the Mediterranean crisis.
- The role of lawyers and legal tools in resisting hostile environments and working with activists in the fight for free movement and climate justice
The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers notes that as global temperatures rise, the impacts on humans and ecosystems are also multiplying. Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, drought and flooding have the greatest impact in those regions and communities which have done least to contribute to the problem.
It notes that the UK hosting a crucial UN climate summit (COP26) in November 2021 makes the coming year a crucial one for climate action.
It also notes that while time is running out fast to avoid the worst impacts of catastrophic climate change, the UK government’s target of ‘net zero’ by 2050 falls short of what is needed. Further, policies currently in place leave us well off track to achieve even this target.
It believes that measures like those proposed in the “One Million Climate Jobs” report in the UK by the Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union Group would not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also, by boosting the economy, offer an alternative to austerity, investing in the infrastructure needed for a sustainable future.
It further believes that trade unions have a vital role to play in bringing about urgent climate action and a worker-led just transition which is rooted in workers’ rights and social justice.
The International Association of Democratic Lawyers therefore resolves:
- To affiliate to the Campaign against Climate Change.
- To support the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers and civil society mobilisations around COP26
- To notify the Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group of our decision by e-mailing climatetradeunion@gmail.com.