Running with or against the treadmill? Labor unions, institutional contexts, and greenhouse gas emissions in a comparative perspective

In this paper, we examine one institution that has received less attention in scholarly debates about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, despite its inherent connection to economic activity and political activism: labor unions. For some, unions represent particularistic interest groups that pursue the economic interests of their members at the expense of the environment. For others, they represent the organized political voice of a working class demanding safe and healthy work environments and communities. We also consider how the effect of unions is conditioned by institutional context, including the presence of employment protection laws and the degree of corporatist governance. We use error correction models (ECMs) to examine the relationship between union density and GHG emissions among 18 affluent countries between the years of 1990 and 2010. We find union density to be associated with reduced GHG emissions, net of controls. We also find that unions have a greater reducing capacity when they are able to participate in policy formation, but that capacity is reduced with the presence of strong employment protection laws. We conclude that further research is needed before policy decisions are made and hope that this study opens up new discussions about the role of labor in addressing climate change.