Climate change and working conditions in emergency and civil protection services
Abstract
Climate change intensifies occupational risks in emergency and civil protection sectors, exposing workers to extreme weather, excessive heat, UV radiation, air pollution, and vector-borne diseases. These professionals, already facing demanding working conditions and physical and psychosocial hazards, now encounter aggravated challenges that demand urgent legal responses. Spain’s legal framework, though improved with measures like “paid climate leave” and mandatory emergency protocols, remains fragmented and inadequate. A comprehensive reform of labor and sector-specific legislation is needed to structurally incorporate climate-related risks into occupational safety systems. International experiences provide adaptable models. A just ecological transition must ensure safe, resilient, and dignified working conditions for frontline responders to climate crises, reinforcing the link between environmental sustainability, occupational health, and labor rights in the face of an increasingly unstable climate scenario.
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Crossmark
License
In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Cuadernos de Relaciones Laborales is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.
