○ In accordance with Article 37-2 of the Framework Act on Health and Medical Services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted its first Climate Change Health Risk Assessment in 2022 to ascertain the effect of climate change on public health. More than 95% of the respondents believed climate change would affect health, but they did not fully understand the connections between climate change and human health. 

○ In pursuing carbon neutrality, the central and local governments as well as academia emphasize how agriculture, a major culprit for greenhouse gas emissions, should reinvent itself to minimize its impact on climate change. However, they pay little attention to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change (e.g., severe weather, air pollution, and temperature change) on farmers’ health. Farmers, who work outdoors all day, are at the mercy of changing weather, and many suffer from various health problems, ranging from heat stroke to chronic mental illnesses. Unfortunately, society frequently overlooks such violations of their right to health. 

○ To comply with the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth, Jeonbuk Self-Governing Province enacted the “Jeonbuk Self-Governing Province Basic Ordinance for Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth to Address Climate Crisis” on June 16, 2023, to preempt climate change impacts. Many local governments, including Jeonbuk, are implementing laws and systems to help the general public and vulnerable groups cope with the climate crisis and safeguard their health. Nevertheless, they have formulated few policies to track and improve the health conditions of those working in industries and regions that climate change has heavily affected.  

○ We propose the following measures to empower farmers working outdoors to safeguard their health while effectively navigating the climate crisis.

○ First, it is vital to raise farmers’ awareness about the impact of the climate crisis on agriculture and their health and encourage them to adapt to climate change proactively by enhancing their climate and health literacy. To this end, the nation’s central and local governments should provide relevant details in plain language to farmers with low climate and health literacy and suggest practical ways to reduce their carbon footprint and protect their health in everyday life. 

○ Second, relevant government agencies should conduct the Climate Change Health Risk Assessment systematically and consistently to inform policy-making. They should also establish a specialized organization to retain experts, conduct research, construct datasets, and explore business opportunities. Additionally, they must perform comprehensive surveys and build segmented databases by city, county, town, and village to craft policies tailored to agriculture and farming communities. 

○ Last, the 5th National Health Promotion Comprehensive Plan pursues policies on climate change and health. These policies focus on implementing monitoring systems for climate change-induced illnesses, such as heat- and cold-related ailments, promoting preventive measures against climate change-induced illnesses, developing an education system for climate conservation, and building a platform for sharing information on climate change-induced illnesses. Moreover, they advise maintaining a system that provides and shares information on the health of those involved in occupations directly related to climate change. Onsite education and training are also needed so farmers can improve their knowledge and skills for disease prevention and control and effectively apply what they have learned to real-world settings. Simultaneously, it is critical to educate local government officials and related staff, enabling them to gain a holistic understanding of climate change impacts and incorporate all relevant issues in their health-related policies. 

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