Impacts of heat stress on jobs and productivity in Sri Lanka

 

The intersection of climate change policy and labor market dynamics is critical, as underscored by the Paris Agreement's preamble which mandates a "just transition" for the workforce alongside climate action and sustainable development. Policymaking tools like Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS) must therefore be informed by an assessment of their employment impacts—evaluating job creation, destruction, income distribution, and skills development, particularly for women and youth—to ensure equitable outcomes. Concurrently, heat stress, a direct consequence of rising global temperatures, poses an immediate and severe threat to occupational safety and health (OSH), affecting over 70% of the global workforce and leading to millions of non-fatal injuries and thousands of fatalities annually, according to the ILO. This dual challenge requires evidence-based decision-making that provides quantitative and qualitative employment estimates, maximizing the positive social and employment benefits of climate policies while actively mitigating the profound economic and health consequences—including billions in productivity losses—caused by extreme heat.

Source - ILO