To mark World Safety and Health Day this Sunday (28 April), the International Labor Organization (ILO) has released a new report on the impact climate change is having on the safety and health of workers in all regions of the world.
Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate: a global report found that global occupational safety and health (OSH) protections have struggled to keep up with the evolving risks from climate change, resulting in worker mortality and morbidity.
The ILO has adopted more than 40 standards specifically related to OSH, which provide policy solutions for dealing with the effects of climate change on communities, workers and enterprises. In June 2023, the International Labour Conference urged constituents to implement OSH measures for all workers impacted by climate-related risks and extreme weather events and asked the ILO to consider convening a tripartite meeting on OSH in extreme weather events and changing weather patterns.
By 2050, climate change is likely to result in 14.5 million additional deaths worldwide
The latest report presents evidence related to six key impacts of climate change on OSH, which were selected for their severity and the magnitude of their effects on workers: excessive heat, solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, extreme weather events, workplace air pollution, vector-borne diseases and agrochemicals.
The data
Earth’s average surface temperature in 2023 was the warmest on record, with July 2023 being the hottest month ever recorded (NASA 2024). Between 2011 and 2020, the average temperature of the Earth’s surface was 1.1°C warmer than the average temperature in the late 19th century (IPCC 2022). This has caused widespread and rapid changes to the atmosphere, land, ocean and ice regions. Climate change has resulted in weather and climate extremes on all
continents, as evidenced by the increase in the frequency and severity of heatwaves, heavy precipitation, wildfires, droughts and tropical cyclones (IPCC 2021). An analysis by the World Economic Forum found that by 2050, climate change is likely to result in 14.5 million additional deaths worldwide (WEF 2024).
Workers, especially those working outdoors, are frequently the first to be exposed to the consequences of climate change, often for longer periods and at greater intensities than the general population (ILO 2023). They frequently face conditions that the public can choose to avoid (Kiefer et al. 2016). For air pollution alone, more than 1.2 billion workers are exposed and there are over 860,000 deaths annually (ILO 2021a). Occupational safety and health (OSH) policies and practices have struggled to keep up, and workers continue to be exposed to various climate-related hazards.
Numerous health effects on workers have been linked to climate change, including injuries, cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory conditions, macular degeneration and mental health issues.
Key takeaways
- Billions of workers are exposed to hazards exacerbated by climate change.
- Workers across different sectors are exposed to these hazards but some workers, such as agricultural workers and other outdoor workers carrying out heavy labour in hot climates, may be particularly at risk.
- Strong evidence demonstrates that numerous health conditions in workers have been linked to climate change, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, kidney dysfunction and mental health conditions, among many others.
- Every year, an estimated 22.85 million occupational injuries, 18,970 deaths and 2.09 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) are attributable to excessive heat alone. Thousands more die from pesticide poisoning (>300,000), workplace air pollution (>860,000), solar UV radiation (>18,960 due to non-melanoma skin cancer alone) and parasitic and vector-borne diseases (>15,170) (Jørs et al. 2018; ILO 2021a; Pega et al. 2023).
- Many countries have implemented new laws to specifically address excessive heat in the working environment. These primarily include maximum temperature limits and guidelines for adaptive measures at the workplace level. For other climate change impacts, protections for workers are mainly integrated into existing OSH or environmental regulations.
- The content of legislation varies considerably between countries, but may include medical surveillance, occupational disease lists, occupational exposure limits (OELs), training and information, risk assessment and workplace preventive measures.
- As climate change hazards evolve and intensify, it will be necessary to re-evaluate existing legislation or create new regulations and guidance. Some worker populations may be especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change and could therefore need extra protections.
What can OSH professionals do?
In addition to adapting to the climate change impacts outlined in this report, workplaces can contribute to climate mitigation strategies using measures such as improving energy efficiency, the report says. However, it warns that the scientific evidence base regarding climate change and OSH is limited in many critical areas, and so further research is needed.
The report goes on to remind readers that rapid shifts to green and sustainable technologies may create new OSH challenges, especially if appropriate OSH protections have not been implemented. For example, solar panels, compact fluorescent lamps and lithium-ion batteries contain toxic chemicals which are hazardous to worker health.