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Awakening the Chimera: Climate Change and Re-politicisation in Trade Unions in the United Kingdom

Hookes, Catherine Mary LU (2025) HEKM51 20251
Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
Abstract
This research investigates the perceived barriers to UK Trade Unions (TU) engagement in climate change and environmental issues, from the perspective of union members working at local branch, union policy and strategy levels, and what opportunities there are for developing an environmental trade union movement. With the advent of catastrophic climate change necessitating rapid decarbonisation of the economy, climate change has become increasingly a working class issue. Trade unions, as the main organising institution for workers, could play an important role in the transformation to a low carbon economy in the UK. However TU’s are not only social justice campaigners but have a triangulation of purpose within society, generating tensions... (More)
This research investigates the perceived barriers to UK Trade Unions (TU) engagement in climate change and environmental issues, from the perspective of union members working at local branch, union policy and strategy levels, and what opportunities there are for developing an environmental trade union movement. With the advent of catastrophic climate change necessitating rapid decarbonisation of the economy, climate change has become increasingly a working class issue. Trade unions, as the main organising institution for workers, could play an important role in the transformation to a low carbon economy in the UK. However TU’s are not only social justice campaigners but have a triangulation of purpose within society, generating tensions between their tripartite roles, which this research names as ‘the Chimer-ian Beast’.

Through semi-structured interviews with 21 informants, supported by policy research, participatory practice, and using a theoretically informed reading of the data, this research presents the experiences of TU members who were trying to push climate change and environmental issues up the trade union agenda. The results were thematised into 4 barriers, which were; a lack of knowledge and communication, differentiated ideologies and perspectives, declining working conditions and a general lack of interest and desire for political culture. These barriers demonstrated how ecological modernisation policies to mitigate climate change, along with social movements from above have operated to generate a ‘depoliticised’ climate politics within UK trade unions. (Less)
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author
Hookes, Catherine Mary LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM51 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Trade Union, climate change, UK, ecological modernisation, depoliticization, social movements
language
English
id
9209066
date added to LUP
2025-09-22 15:59:13
date last changed
2025-09-22 15:59:13
@misc{9209066,
  abstract     = {{This research investigates the perceived barriers to UK Trade Unions (TU) engagement in climate change and environmental issues, from the perspective of union members working at local branch, union policy and strategy levels, and what opportunities there are for developing an environmental trade union movement. With the advent of catastrophic climate change necessitating rapid decarbonisation of the economy, climate change has become increasingly a working class issue. Trade unions, as the main organising institution for workers, could play an important role in the transformation to a low carbon economy in the UK. However TU’s are not only social justice campaigners but have a triangulation of purpose within society, generating tensions between their tripartite roles, which this research names as ‘the Chimer-ian Beast’. 

Through semi-structured interviews with 21 informants, supported by policy research, participatory practice, and using a theoretically informed reading of the data, this research presents the experiences of TU members who were trying to push climate change and environmental issues up the trade union agenda. The results were thematised into 4 barriers, which were; a lack of knowledge and communication, differentiated ideologies and perspectives, declining working conditions and a general lack of interest and desire for political culture. These barriers demonstrated how ecological modernisation policies to mitigate climate change, along with social movements from above have operated to generate a ‘depoliticised’ climate politics within UK trade unions.}},
  author       = {{Hookes, Catherine Mary}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Awakening the Chimera: Climate Change and Re-politicisation in Trade Unions in the United Kingdom}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}