BWI delivers climate demands before Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean

The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) delivered its “letter of demands” to the representatives of the environment ministries of Brazil, Perú and Colombia who attended the XXIII Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean held in Panama City, Panama on 24- 26 October. The said demand letter is addressed to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) which will be having its 28th Conference of Parties (COP 28) in Dubai next month. 

Given the urgency of the climate crisis, BWI has urged governments to swiftly enact measures that promote an equitable shift towards a more environmentally sustainable future. This involves upholding labour rights while allocating sufficient resources, investments, and funding to ensure the sustainability of various industries and the generation of decent jobs.

Dr Albina Ruiz Ríos, Minister for the Environment, Peru; Mrs María Susana Muhamad González, Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Colombia; and Joao Paulo Ribeiro Capobianco, Executive Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change of Brazil, received BWI’s letter of demands and committed to take steps to realize national just transition plans for the built environment, including BWI affiliates. 

The government representatives also received from the BWI Amazonian Trade Union Network (ATUN) a list of actionable proposals concerning the promotion of decent work to be considered by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), an important instrument of articulation in defence of the world's largest rainforest.