
How is work affected by global warming in France?
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📣The latest Oxfam report[1] denounces the lack of anticipation of companies and elected officials in the face of the consequences of heat. It also raises the question of health at work, and very little seems to have changed since the ANSES report[2] in 2017 which already warned of the increase in occupational risks linked to rising temperatures, the evolution of the biological and chemical environment, and the modification of the frequency and intensity of climatic hazards.
Oxfam points out that 36% of French workers are already exposed to temperatures exceeding 35°C in their workplace. What the report hints at is the direct link between climatic conditions and physical, mental and social well-being at work in all professions . Some workers are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change on health than average. Those who work outdoors of course, in fields such as agriculture, construction or transport. They are exposed to extreme temperatures, poor air quality and disease-carrying parasites. Those who work in indoor environments too. Many workers in France work in hot environments that are not, or not sufficiently ventilated, air-conditioned, planted, in which temperatures regularly exceed 21°C or 22°C conducive to well-being at work. Many companies, but also care units, nursing homes, schools, require their employees to work in premises that are not suitable for high temperatures, heat waves or heat waves.
Oxfam points out that By 2030, that is to say tomorrow, 55% of schools will be exposed to temperatures exceeding 35°C, and 100% of nursery schools in Bouches du Rhône, Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris and Gironde.
Perhaps it should be remembered that heat causes a significant drop in productivity from 24°C and that it drops by half above 30°C . Perhaps it should also be remembered that heat causes fatigue, reduced alertness, stress, work stoppages and accidents. Heat stress is the cause of billions of lost working hours worldwide (nearly 650 billion hours lost each year between 2001 and 2020, or 155 million full-time jobs). In France, these hours represent 0.1% to 0.5% of GDP, or as many hours lost as during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Given the IPCC projections, the situation will deteriorate rapidly. Perhaps it should be remembered again that France is warming twice as fast as the global average, and that Europe is the continent that is warming the fastest .
The above figures are huge but remain abstract until they are related to the specific case of each company and each school, hospital, and each public building in each municipality. This is undoubtedly what explains the inaction of elected officials and companies. In 2017, the first recommendation of ANSES was to promote awareness of the effects of climate change on health, through information. The Oxfam report confirms the urgency for business leaders, risk managers, those responsible for business continuity plans, and elected officials of course, to make clear, precise, and objective climate vulnerability diagnoses. covering each factory, warehouse, office, and building that accommodates workers, students, and patients. It is only by accurately quantifying the risk to which each site is exposed, by projecting the evolution of this risk year by year, and by translating this evolution into economic and financial consequences, that decision-makers will have in their hands the elements that justify investment in adaptation actions .
Adapting the work tool to climate change means preserving profitability, heritage, and as the Oxfam report reminds us, well-being and health at work. This is why Tardigrade AI's Climate Performance Diagnostic is a privileged means of understanding current and projected climate risks on property and people and helps you build your operational, financial and above all human resilience strategy.