As part of London Climate Action Week, WIEGO is hosting a webinar to explore the links between climate change, workers’ health and urban resilience.
The discussion on June 26, 2026, will bring together researchers, worker leaders, policymakers and a philanthropy representative to examine how climate-related risks affect workers in informal employment, and how this shapes health and economic outcomes.
Workers in informal employment sustain food systems, transport networks and waste management, and a range of other essential urban functions. They make up more than half of the urban workforce in middle-income countries, and more than three-quarters in low-income countries.
As climate-related risks intensify, the health and livelihoods of these workers are increasingly under threat, with significant consequences for the cities they live in. This talk will cover what this means for the resilience of cities and public systems, and what kinds of investments, policy reforms and institutional changes could strengthen resilience.
The dialogue will explore:
- Visibility and data: how are extreme heat, flooding and other climate shocks shaping the health, livelihoods and productivity of workers in the informal economy?
- System diagnosis: which features of urban, health and labour systems actively create or contribute to worker vulnerability in the informal economy?
- Where capital is and is not flowing: where is climate adaptation finance and health philanthropic capital actually reaching?
- What strategies workers are already using to adapt, and what scaling these would mean.
London Climate Action Week is one of the world’s largest independent climate events, bringing together more than 75,000 people to attend more than 750 events. It runs for nine days, and this is its eighth year.
The international climate community gathers at LCAW to build relationships, coalitions, and shape agendas, and it is set at the midpoint of the diplomatic year, after the United Nations climate meetings and before the UN General Assembly and COP.
Speakers include:
- Nicky Davies, Executive Director, Plastics Solutions Fund Speaker TBD – Philanthropic perspective.
- Jigisha Maheta, SEWA Cooperative Federation, India.
- Kabir Arora, International Alliance of Waste Pickers.
- Vanessa Castan Broto, The University of Sheffield, UK.
Moderator:
- Laura Alfers, WIEGO.
