{"id":65401,"date":"2026-01-05T14:58:03","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T14:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lirneasia.net\/futureworksasia\/?post_type=projects&p=65401"},"modified":"2026-01-22T10:17:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T10:17:44","slug":"climate-change-and-the-future-of-work-of-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"projects","link":"https:\/\/lirneasia.net\/futureworksasia\/projects\/climate-change-and-the-future-of-work-of-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change and the Future of Work in Sri Lankan Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Grantee<\/strong>: Centre for a Smart Future (CSF)
Partner organizations<\/strong>: N\/A
Country of focus:<\/strong> Sri Lanka
Grant period:<\/strong> November 2025 \u2013 April  2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

FutureWORKS Asia<\/a> is part of the FutureWORKS Collective, a global initiative supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada<\/a>, aimed at addressing the evolving challenges in the world of work across the Global South. As the Asian arm of the broader FutureWORKS network, the initiative is led by LIRNEasia<\/a> and focuses on supporting high-quality, innovative, and gender-responsive research to inform skills development and policy pathways for an inclusive and sustainable future of work in Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the completion of the first competitive selection process, five research projects under Cycle 1 are currently ongoing. In November 2025, FutureWORKS Asia onboarded seven additional research projects under Cycle 2, expanding the regional research network. These Cycle 2 projects will run until April 2027, deepening evidence and policy engagement across diverse future-of-work themes, including climate transitions, gender, and labour market transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CSF has been selected to conduct a 18 month research and advocacy project, Climate Change and the Future of Work in Sri Lankan Cities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cities across Sri Lanka are becoming hotter, with rising temperatures and declining air quality increasingly shaping how work is performed\u2014particularly for outdoor and informal workers. This project examines the economic, health, and gendered impacts of extreme heat on outdoor workers in Colombo and its suburbs, with a focus on gig workers and street cleaners who perform essential services yet lack adequate social protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By documenting lived experiences and mapping how heat stress affects daily work, income stability, health, and care responsibilities, the project aims to generate evidence that supports transformative social protection, urban adaptation strategies, and climate-responsive labour policies. The research is paired with targeted advocacy to engage municipalities, platform companies, private sector actors, and the public in building more climate-resilient and inclusive cities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n