Our Precarious Planet: Climate Change and OSH

As temperatures continue to rise, and extreme weather events become more frequent, preparing for the future has never been more important. 

There’s no denying the realities of climate change in 2023. Since 2000, flood-related disasters have risen by 134 per cent compared with the two previous decades, while temperatures have continued to soar, with 2015-2019 noted as the five warmest years on record. Climate change has put the health and safety of workers around the world at risk, and the effects aren’t just physical, the impact on mental health is rising too. Our Precarious Planet: Climate Change and OSH will interrogate the immediate risks faced by both formal and informal workforces across a range of industries and explore ways of preventing harm and preparing for the future. 

Join panelists Evelyn Koh from the Ministry of Manpower, Singapore, Alessandro Marinaccio, Research Director and Head of Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Unit at INAIL and Ockert Dupper, Global Program Manager of the Vision Zero Fund, ILO, Switzerland as they share their experiences working to address rising temperatures and the occupational dangers of heat exposure and stress for workers around the world. 

Hear how industry collaboration is protecting electrical distribution workers from harm due to the increased strength and frequency of floods in Quebec from Patrick Ndjom, health, safety, and environmental specialist at Schneider Electric, Canada. While Siraz Hirani, Senior Program Management Specialist at Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust, India, will discuss the impacts of climate change on home-based work workers, in particular women, who lack essential social and legal protections. 

Finally, learn how climate change is impacting the psychosocial safety of workers from Monica Trezise, Psychologist and Research Analyst at the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University, Australia. This discussion will be moderated by Dr Andreas Flouris from FAME Lab, University of Thessaly, Greece. Dr Flouris has over 15 years’ experience advising governments and international organisations on the health effects of climate change and environmental factors. 

Looking to learn more about additional contemporary issues affecting the labour landscape? Head to our Informing the Future symposium on Tuesday 28 November to hear more about how we can prepare OSH for the future world of work.