A “staggering” number of workers, representing more than 70 percent of the global workforce, are likely to be exposed to health risks related to climate change and existing occupational safety and health (OSH) protections are struggling to keep up with the resulting risks, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

A message Ensuring occupational safety and health in a changing climate , says that climate change is already having a serious impact on the safety and health of workers in all regions of the world. The ILO estimates that, according to the latest available data (2020), more than 2.4 billion workers (out of a global workforce of 3.4 billion) will be exposed to excessive heat at some point in their work. When calculated as a share of the global workforce, this share has increased from 65.5 percent to 70.9 percent since 2000. (More on ilo.org)