Climate change and working conditions in emergency and civil protection services

Keywords: climate change, occupational risks, emergencies, civil protection, heat stress, labor legislation, mental health, just ecological transition

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.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Publication Facts

Metric
This article
Other articles
Peer reviewers 
2
2.4

Reviewer profiles  N/A

Author statements

Author statements
This article
Other articles
Data availability 
N/A
16%
External funding 
N/A
32%
Competing interests 
N/A
11%
Metric
This journal
Other journals
Articles accepted 
14%
33%
Days to publication 
252
145

Indexed in

Editor & editorial board
profiles
Academic society 
N/A
Publisher 
Ediciones Complutense
View citations

Crossmark

Metrics

Published
2026-02-10
How to Cite
Rojas Rivero G. P. (2026). Climate change and working conditions in emergency and civil protection services. Cuadernos de Relaciones Laborales, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.5209/crla.103121
Section
Monographic