TORONTO, Nov. 27, 2013 – Climate change is already affecting the jobs people do around the world, forcing them to adapt to new ways of supporting themselves in a unpredictable environment. The Work in a Warming World Community-University Research Alliance (W3) is holding a three-day international conference Nov. 29 to Dec.1 that will bring labour and environmental activists, including former Toronto mayor David Miller, researchers and policy makers, together to discuss issues and devise strategies.
“Global warming is a universal concern, perhaps the greatest challenge facing work, workers and the planet in the 21st century,” says York University work and labour studies Professor Carla Lipsig-Mummé, lead investigator of Work in a Warming World at York.
“There are three sides to the climate threat for work. Climate change is already changing how we work, what we produce, and where we produce it. As important as work is to slowing global warming, the role of work and workers has been strangely absent from policy and social science research.”
Highlights of the conference will include:
- University of Victoria Professor Chris Tollefson, speaking on “Science, Law and Politics: Environmental Decision-making in the Harper Era” (Nov. 29, 11:30am)
- Keynote speaker David Miller, CEO & president of World Wildlife Fund Canada, delivering a public keynote looking at “Just and Green Cities” (Nov. 29, 5:45pm)
- Keynote speaker Philip Jennings, general secretary of UNI Global Union, delivering a keynote on global labour’s time for climate leadership (Nov.30, 11:30am)
- More than 20 panels and workshops and 70 speakers, including a roundtable of indigenous and labour activists on how to work together; youth and climate change; greening construction; clean energy; greening health work; women's leadership in adaptation; the role of informal workers in the struggle to slow global warming, and others.
For more information, visit the Work in a Warming World: Labour, Climate Change and Social Struggle website. For the full program of speakers, click here.
What: Work in a Warming World Community-University Research Alliance conference
Where: University of Toronto, Woodsworth College-Kruger Hall, 119 St. George Street, Toronto
When: Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, 2013
York University is helping to shape the global thinkers and thinking that will define tomorrow. York’s unwavering commitment to excellence reflects a rich diversity of perspectives and a strong sense of social responsibility that sets us apart. A York U degree empowers graduates to thrive in the world and achieve their life goals through a rigorous academic foundation balanced by real-world experiential education. As a globally recognized research centre, York is fully engaged in the critical discussions that lead to innovative solutions to the most pressing local and global social challenges. York’s 11 faculties and 28 research centres are thinking bigger, broader and more globally, partnering with 288 leading universities worldwide. York's community is strong − 55,000 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, and more than 250,000 alumni.
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Media Contact: Robin Heron, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22097/ rheron@yorku.ca
