First annual meeting of UCU Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee

On 10 November 2022, the first National Annual Meeting of UCU's Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee was held online. About 40 members came together to discuss UCU and branch level progress on the climate and ecological emergency, hear from others and plan for the year ahead.

There was a panel discussion with guest speaker Alanah Torralba, from Education International - speaking on their vision for a Just Transition for educators. Reflections and feedback from a Researchers Roundtable on divestment from Fossil fuel related funding in research was also shared, to help understand different perspectives and impacts of such a transition.

With COP27 underway in Egypt the second pre-lunch session focussed on COP27 - the United Nations Climate Conference. In solidarity with activists and particularly activists who are or have been incarcerated in Egypt for political and environmental activism, we had Anne Alexander from Egypt Solidarity Initiative join us to bring the campaign to light. Meeting members held #freealaa signs to share on social media calling on Egypt to release Alaa Abdel Fattah, currently imprisoned in Egypt for political activism.

The meeting also held the first ever screening of UCU and Mock COPs new film: The Climate crisis: and education crisis. With a call to action for education workforce and students to mobilise together on climate action for the education sector.

Aishwarya Puttur, Mock COP campaign coordinator also joined this session, sharing updates on youth activism for action on climate education. They shared updated of their latest campaigns and initiatives, including 1.5 degrees, Teach the Teacher and in-person events at COP27.

Formal business saw a new committee elected in, comprising of Pete Wood (The Open University) and Vicky Blake (University of Leeds) co-chairs, Kayleigh Woods Harley (Birkbeck), Rhian Keyse (Birkbeck). Incoming NEC rep is Marion Hersh (University of Glasgow). We look forward to seeing the committee establish itself and start driving this work forward.

Meeting delegates passed 7 climate and environment related motions, providing priority areas for the new committee:

1. waste incineration is an environmental disaster
2. against Bauxite Mining in Jamaica
3. supporting civil resistance on climate
4. driving our climate and ecological emergency work forward
5. curriculum and teaching careers in the CEE
6. building UCU's organising and bargaining capacity; growing green rep cohorts
7. developing UCU's demands to employers; feeding into the national claims.

Further links shared from the meeting:

• New film - The Climate Crisis: an education crisis
• Education International Just Transition report
• #FreeAlaa campaign
• UCU's COP27 Statement and link to how to get involved in the demonstrations on 12 November
• Urgent Action toolkit - Free Alaa
• Mock COP
• UCU Liverpool Branch GND claim
• More information on UCU's Green New Deal and how your branch can prepare a claim similar to Liverpool
• Probe Symposium on retrofitting
• Facility time bargaining advice [147kb]
• Climate Justice Coalition
• Climate Jobs book
• Just Transition Wakefield
• Climate Action Leeds
• Glasgow's retrofit programme: rival agendas
• Climate Commissions vary
• UCU Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee