Heat, Policy and the Informal Economy (A Technical and Policy Dialogue)
A technical and policy dialogue that carries forward the demands raised by workers into an expert- and government-facing conversation on heat action plans, heat as a notified disaster and concrete policy recommendations for informal workers.
This event moves from the lived experience, coping strategies and demands surfaced by workers on Day One into a policy-focused dialogue on heat and the institutional response required to protect people facing extreme heat. It brings together climate, public health, disaster management, urban, labour and policy experts alongside government stakeholders to examine how heat policy can become more inclusive and effective, what the recognition of heat as a disaster could mean in practice, and how existing and emerging approaches can better protect informal workers. Where Day One centres worker voice, Day Two takes those experiences and demands into a wider policy conversation, moving from testimony and evidence towards institutional response, implementation and accountability.
The day opens by briefly setting the context, summarising the key findings, coping strategies and demands that emerged from Day One. The first panel, “From Heat Plans to Heat Protection,” examines how current Heat Action Plans and wider urban heat policies can move beyond planning and advisories towards meaningful protection. The discussion will look at gaps in current approaches, including the needs of informal workers and women, the role of care, the built environment and public space, and the potential to strengthen and scale interventions that are already working at the community and worker level. The second panel, “Heat as a Disaster: What Would Change?”, takes up the larger institutional question of recognising extreme heat as a disaster. It will explore what such recognition could mean for public health, disaster preparedness, institutional responsibility, funding, accountability, housing and worker protection, and how different levels of government and other institutions can translate recognition into effective action.
The day closes with a synthesis of key takeaways from both panels, drawing together the policy gaps, promising approaches and priorities identified across the two days, with a focus on concrete recommendations, institutional ownership and possible next steps.
PARTNERS: WIEGO - Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, SEWA and Janpahal