Climate change

Summary:

Occupational health is well placed to make a significant contribution in supporting the health of workers affected by climate change and in advising employers and employees on its consequences and countermeasures.

A child born today will experience a world that is more than four degrees warmer than the pre-industrial average, with climate change impacting human health from infancy and adolescence to adulthood and old age.’ This is one of the warnings of the 2019 report of The Lancet Countdown – an international, multidisciplinary collaboration monitoring the health impact of climate change. It says that globally rising temperatures have already led to major climatic incidents, including floods, heat waves, droughts and new and emerging infectious diseases. It predicts that worse is to come if governments fail to meet emissions targets under the 2016 Paris Agreement. But climate change is also a massive issue for occupational health in advising on, and dealing with, the consequences for the workforce, employers and society…

John Ballard, editor 

Author: Ballard J

Tags environmental medicine public health

Occupational Health at Work February/March 2020 (vol. 16/5) pp03

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