Following last Tuesday’s conference, Congress has just passed three climate change resolutions. ITF education officer Alana Dave reflects on the next steps.

After months and months of preparation, we were ready for the ITF climate change conference. And we were excited! We knew that there would be challenges and difficulties, but we also knew that there were enormous possibilities to mobilise affiliates on this issue.

And we were not disappointed. Almost 400 delegates from 150 affiliates attended. Delegates shared ideas and different opinions from all industrial sections and from all regions. There was a fantastic and stimulating atmosphere – it showed we could be courageous and lead the changes that were necessary in transport and society.

But what now? How do we keep the momentum? How do we continue to develop our ideas and turn them into action?

Here are some immediate thoughts.

Let’s really encourage unions who want to get involved and build a network which can really drive our programme – whether it is doing research on green jobs, producing leaflets that grassroots activists can use, running workshops, or getting involved with other social movements.

The discussion document we produced for the conference is an excellent tool for continuous education.

And we must begin to look very concretely at the reduce-shift-improve framework. This involves

  • Reducing the need for the movement of goods and people
  • Modal shifts to less carbon intensive forms of transport. E.g. can air transport be shifted to high speed rail?
  • Developing new technologies to radically improve energy and fuel efficiency

The next step is to develop very clear sectoral strategies which can strengthen affiliates in their organising and bargaining.

These are just a few of the possibilities. I cannot wait to get started!