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Source-This post on Workers and the climate change risk has been created based on the article “More than 70% global workers exposed to climate change risks: ILO” published in “Business Standard” on 23 April 2024.
Why in the news?
As per the report of International Labour Organization (ILO), over 70% of workers worldwide face climate change risks, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths yearly.
Key Findings of ILO report
1) ILO in its report titled “Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate” observed that many workers are already facing climate change risks at work, and these numbers may increase in the future.
2) There is a need to review current laws or make new rules and advice in the backdrop of rising number of natural hazards due to climate change.
3) The number of workers facing rising temperatures has increased by about 5% in the last 20 years to 70.9%, the report found. It also mentioned other climate risks, like UV radiation and air pollution, affecting around 1.6 billion people each.
4) Air pollution leads to about 860,000 work-related deaths yearly for outdoor workers. Excessive heat causes around 18,970 occupational deaths annually, while UV radiation causes roughly 18,960 deaths due to non-melanoma skin cancer.
5) The report mentions that technologies aimed at combating climate change, such as solar panels and lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, can sometimes pose new risks because they contain harmful chemicals.
6) The report highlighted that the working poor, those in informal jobs, seasonal workers, and employees of small businesses will be the most affected by these changes.
Read more-ILO Report: “A Call for safer and healthier working environments
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