Climate change is a growing occupational safety and health risk for transport workers, and is already reshaping working conditions. Rising temperatures, extreme cold, storms, flooding and other severe weather events increasingly expose workers to hazardous conditions – generating operational, financial and resilience risks for companies.
Transport work largely takes place in the natural environment, making climate-related risks unavoidable. Workers often operate in spaces where conditions can intensify rapidly, increasing physical and physiological strain and safety risks, with limited capacity and authority to adapt operations when conditions become unsafe, particularly where service delivery or contractual commitments create pressure to continue working.
Recent climate-related disruptions demonstrate the direct impact on transport supply chains. For example, the recent prolonged drought affecting the Panama Canal significantly cut transit capacity, forcing delays, rerouting and higher costs for shipping companies and cargo owners.
Both transport buyers and suppliers must ensure climate adaptation and resilience measures prioritise worker safety. As part of HREDD, companies must assess how climate-related risks affect working conditions and implement preventative measures: adapting schedules, providing appropriate rest, hydration and shelter, establishing emergency protocols, setting and enforcing maximum and minimum safe temperatures limits, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure.
Commercial expectations must not require work to continue in unsafe conditions. Workers must be able to report risks and refuse unsafe work without penalty or loss of income, and they must not be financially penalised where unsafe conditions stop or delay work.
Effective mitigation depends on engagement with workers and trade unions to support risk assessment, monitoring and climate adaptation across supply chains.