Climate change is already worsening employee health. Are employers prepared?

Employee Benefit News July 31, 2024
Deanna Cuadra

Between record-breaking summer temperatures and the increase in natural disasters, climate change is more visible than ever before. But what some employers may not see is the toll climate change has already taken on employee health.

Research from the Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health, Wisconsin Health Professionals for Climate Action and Natural Resources Defense Council found that symptoms of climate change, like fossil fuel-driven air pollution, are responsible for $820 billion in healthcare costs each year. That includes conditions like respiratory and heart diseases, food-related illnesses, pest-related diseases, and potentially sustaining injuries from natural disasters like floods or wildfires.

“The reality is that climate change is impacting people’s health right now,” says Baylis Beard, director of sustainability at...

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