The Role of Trade Unions and Workers´ Interests in the Social-Ecological Transformation towards a Climate-Friendly Society. The Case of Austria

This project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the role of trade unions in Austria in current climate change politics and analyses the options for enhancing this role in order to contribute to socio-ecological transformation. A precondition for enhancing this role is an increasing political priority of climate change issues within trade unions. Key here is that, on the one hand, trade unions foster their understanding of complex problems related to climate change and link them to social questions and interests of wage-earners and, on the other hand, to better anchor the interests of wage earners in Austrian climate policy. Up to the present, trade unions have rarely been a focus of (social)-scientific research on climate change policy. This interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary project intends to close this research gap. Moreover, we want to strengthen the focus of trade unions that take climate change issues seriously and see the necessity of creating alliances across institutional and mental barriers.