ALBANY — State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is jetting off to Germany Monday and Tuesday to talk a little klimaschutz. Or, for non-German speakers, climate change.

The comptroller will take part in a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany, at which world leaders are discussing meeting goals outlined in the Paris climate accord. The United States announced it would pull out of that agreement earlier this year.

DiNapoli was invited by organizers of the 23rd annual "conference of parties" (COP23) to take part in panel discussions on investments and climate change.

The comptroller previously attended COP21 in Paris, where he announced the creation of a $2 billion index that would exclude or reduce investments in companies that are large contributors to carbon emissions. The idea is that money divested from those companies could be reinvested in lower emitters.

"I will certainly talk about ... in spite of what the Trump administration is saying about pulling out of the Paris Agreement, our committment (to the agreement) as an institutional investor," DiNapoli told Capitol Confidential. "We certainly will continue to adhere to the sprit of the Paris Agreement and work to have our portfolio positions in a way that has us participating in the transition to the low-carbon economy that Paris envisions."

As trustee of the New York state pension fund, the third largest in the nation, DiNapoli has faced pressure to divest the fund from fossil fuels. Such an idea is controversial and full divestment has been opposed by the comptroller himself.

DiNapoli has pressured Exxon Mobil in particular to reveal how climate change mitigation efforts will impact its revenues. He noted on Friday that being an investor allowed the state to engage the company in such a way.

As of 2015, $3.68 billion of the pension fund was invested in the top 200 potential emitters, according to DiNapoli's office. On the flip side, the comptroller has committed the fund to more than $5 billion in sustainable energy investments.

"The reality is all organizations have a carbon footprint of some kind," he said. "That's why we think it's smarter not to just focus on a company that's drilling for oil, but we need to focus on all organizations and say, 'What are you doing to reduce your carbon footprint?'"

The comptroller is traveling with a staff adviser on environmental policy. The trip is being paid for out of DiNapoli's campaign funds.

Labor's big election night victory

The downfall of the constitutional convention vote last week was a big victory for organized labor.

Unions bet big on the convention vote going down, contributing $3.7 million to anti-convention coalition New Yorkers Against Corruption in the run up Election Day, according to filings with the state Board of Elections. There also was union spending on "member to member" communication, which does not have to be disclosed.

The contributions paid off: The convention ultimately was rejected in a landslide.

The overwhelming rejection of a convention is a good narrative for the unions heading into 2018, when arguments and a decision are expected in what could be a landmark union dues case.

Janus v. AFSCME, which is before the U.S. Supreme Court, looks at a mandate that allows public sector unions in 22 states, including New York, to require that workers they represent pay union fees, even if they don't want to join the union. The fees apply to costs for collective bargaining and handling grievances but not to political or lobbying expenditures, which traditional membership dues help fund.

Getting rid of that obligation could deal a serious financial blow to the unions.

With Janus in mind, some see two benefits from last Tuesday's vote: It strengthened member outreach and it bolstered the case for how unions benefit paying members.

"In many ways, the organizing methods we used will serve us well if there is an adverse decision in Janus," New York State United Teachers union spokesman Carl Korn said, noting robust door-knocking and phone-banking operations.

"It showed NYSUT members how important it is to have a strong voice speaking up for them in the workplace," he added, "especially in an era when big-money, out-of-state interests want to privatize public education, destroy unions and tell teachers how to teach."

mhamilton@timesunion.com • 518-454-5449 •@matt_hamilton10