Migrant Workers Endured Dangerous Heat to Prepare UAE Venue for COP28 Climate Talks

As participants and representatives from nearly 200 countries gear up for next month’s COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, some of the preparations have been found to be very dangerous and potentially deadly.

According to a new investigation, This Weather Isn’t for Humans, by nonprofit human rights research and advocacy group FairSquare, migrant workers were working outdoors in extreme heat last month to prepare conference facilities for the talks.

The work conditions they were subjected to posed serious health threats and were “in clear violation” of laws intended to protect workers from the country’s harsh climate, a press release from FairSquare said.

On two days last month, workers were working outside in high heat and humidity during the “midday ban,” a law that prohibits working outdoors during the hottest parts of the day in the summer in order to protect workers from dangerous heat exposure, according to testimonies and visual evidence gathered by researchers, reported The Guardian.

“Of course, I get headaches and feel dizzy. Everyone in this heat does. This weather isn’t for humans, I think,” one of the workers told researchers, according to the press release.

“Last week, I thought I would die every second we were outside,” another said, “but we have to get paid.”

At the time, temperatures were as high as 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which, combined with the humidity, likely exceeded the internationally recognized standards for limits for safe performance of construction work.

“I think I will one day collapse. I did once pass out while working on the site in 2021 – before Expo began – but just once. This time, so far I have not passed out and the weather is going to get better soon so hopefully it will be all good going forward. Otherwise, I just try to take quick water breaks when I can. There is also A/C [air conditioning] inside so I just go inside from time to time to feel better,” another of the workers said, according to the press release.

Evidence obtained by FairSquare showed that the work that took place between 12:30 and 3:00 p.m. over two separate days in September was performed at two locations — the Opportunity site and the Dubai Exhibition and Convention Centre — that will be adjoining or within the UN-managed “blue zone,” where world leaders will meet as part of COP28.

“I have to say about this ban. It is equally hot when it is 11 a.m. as it is at 12.30 p.m. or at 4 p.m. as it is at 3 p.m. when it is hot. The ban does little anyway throughout the daytime in the summer,” a migrant construction worker at the COP28 site said, as the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reported.

Swift acceleration of temperatures can cause “a cascade of illnesses,” according to the World Health Organization, including hyperthermia, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, the press release said. Chronic exposure to extreme heat can lead to cumulative stress on the body, as well as risks that can exacerbate diabetes and cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney diseases.

Researchers in Kuwait and Qatar, neighboring countries of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have already acknowledged the link between extreme temperatures and a higher risk of death for migrant workers.

Last month, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber expressed that COP28 would make health the center of climate discussions, as “the connection between health and climate change is evident, yet it has not been a specific focus of the COP process — until now. This must change,” the press release said.

“The Cop president wants to talk about climate change and health at Cop28? This report is a perfect place to start,” said Richard Pearshouse, director of the environment division at Human Rights Watch, as reported by The Guardian. “It shows the climate crisis will be particularly dangerous and deadly when laws aren’t upheld and rights aren’t respected.”

In a written statement to FairSquare, COP28 said it was “not aware of any breaches of Summer Working Hours on the site of this year’s Conference,” adding that COP28 and Expo City had “robust worker welfare policies and procedures.”

FairSquare is asking COP28 organizers for an official investigation.

“Meanwhile the UAE authorities should adopt a risk-based, rather than a calendar-based, approach to limit workers’ exposure to heat. Specifically, the UAE should pass legislation to ensure that employers are required to provide workers with breaks of an appropriate duration, in cooled, shaded areas, when there is an occupational risk of heat stress. Mandatory break times should take into account the environmental heat stress risks along with the exertional nature of the work being performed,” the press release said.

According to the FairSquare report, migrant workers were going without breaks during hours when the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) — a heat stress measurement based on temperature, wind, humidity and cloud cover — at the Dubai airport was from 88 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit, while regular breaks during strenuous work are recommended by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration when the WBGT is above 77 degrees Fahrenheit, The Guardian reported.

“The economic engine that allows the prolific construction of luxury high rises and the survival of the conference and tourism-centred economy in Gulf countries is south-east Asian migrant workers, who in many cases have already been forced to flee the crippling economic and social impacts of climate change in their own countries,” said Amali Tower, founder and executive director of Climate Refugees, as reported by The Guardian. “The UN’s efforts to ensure regional representation for Cop locations and its commitment to multilateral diplomacy should not prevent it from calling out human rights violations by host countries, whether in the Gulf or elsewhere.”

As a climate conference intended to find strategies to mitigate the climate crisis, asking onsite workers to perform their duties in extreme heat seems contradictory.

“If the UAE COP28 team claim they want to protect people’s health from climate change, they have to start close to home, where migrant workers have been preparing the Expo City site in temperatures that tourists faint in. This poses a severe risk to these workers’ health and even their lives,” said James Lynch, founding co-director of FairSquare, in the press release.