Climate change is not just an environmental crisis; it is a direct driver of human vulnerability, exacerbating the conditions that lead to child and forced labor.

 

Across South Asia, in countries like India, Nepal, and Bangladesh—where GoodWeave operates—climate disasters such as extreme heat, floods, and landslides are displacing families and destroying the crops communities survive on, pushing them into economic instability. When parents lose their livelihoods, children often leave school to work, and entire families become susceptible to exploitative labor conditions. GoodWeave is addressing the correlation between climate crises and vulnerability to exploitation through field-based emergency relief to support community resilience; research on contextual links between climate and child and forced labor; and local and global advocacy.

Field-based emergency relief

Our teams have experienced climate impacts firsthand throughout 2024. In India, May and June brought extreme heat, with temperatures soaring to 50 degrees Celsius.¹ State governments closed schools early, halting education and leaving children at home during one of the most dangerous periods. GoodWeave’s community-based programs had to pause or adjust their operations, running on reduced hours and focusing on older children who could cope with the heat. The heat impacted field teams as well—social compliance auditors struggled with overheated devices, and some had to pause their work entirely. Health challenges, including fever and skin rashes, spread among children, workers, and staff.

In Bangladesh, unrelenting monsoon rains in August caused one of the worst flooding events on record, displacing over 5.7 million people.² Families lost crops, livestock, and homes, pushing many to migrate to urban centers like Dhaka and Chittagong. For informal workers and children, this migration often led to exploitative labor conditions as families accepted any work to survive. The floods brought additional challenges, such as waterborne diseases, unsafe living conditions, and food insecurity.

Nepal experienced devastating floods and landslides in late September, with rains continuing into October. Over 7,600 families were displaced, many from informal settlements that were completely washed away.³ Even GoodWeave’s Hamro Ghar, a transit home for child labor survivors, felt the impact, as some children could not reunite with their families during Dashain due to damaged roads.

Emergency funds raised by GoodWeave have provided temporary support, including equipment for communities to cope with the aftermath of the heatwave and to prepare for harsher winters; as well as education, counseling, and health checks for children and workers. However, the scale of the disaster requires sustained efforts to address the long-term effects of climate shocks on vulnerable communities.

Research on links between climate change and child and forced labor in Nepal

Nepal is emblematic of climate change-induced child and forced labor risks. In 2021, research from the Government of Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Environment demonstrated how changing climate is affecting the country and its most vulnerable regions and communities. The report documented the rapid, climate-induced increase in male labor migration, and the migration of young household members – including millions to the Gulf – which increases the vulnerability of those left behind such as elderly people, children, and women. If the current trends continue, female-headed households in Nepal will increase from 1.3 million to 3.1 million by 2051.⁴

To address these challenges, GoodWeave is conducting research in select districts of Nepal to document the connection between extreme climate events and vulnerability to exploitation. The study will be published in late 2025 to inform local and global strategies to protect communities at risk and identify steps that can be taken by the Nepali government, local civil society organizations, and the private sector to reduce communities’ vulnerability to child and/or forced labor.

 

This is especially important as Nepal committed, as a Pathfinder Country under Alliance 8.7, to its efforts to combat child labor, forced labor, modern slavery, and human trafficking.⁵ This designation is especially relevant as climate-related disasters, like floods and landslides in Nepal, leave families at greater risk of exploitation, and our research aims to inform solutions.

Local and global advocacy

GoodWeave is also leveraging its expertise to inform global conversations on climate and human rights. During NYC Climate Week, CEO Jon Jacoby participated in a panel hosted by People’s Courage International on the disproportionate effects of climate change on marginalized communities. In November, Hem Moktan, a Program Officer with Nepal GoodWeave Foundation shared his experiences and perspectives as a child labor survivor and representative of the Tamang indigenous community, at a Just Transition side event during the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. These advocacy efforts highlighted the critical need for systemic change to address both the climate crisis and its social impacts.

GoodWeave’s work remains rooted in supporting the communities most affected by climate and social justice challenges. By providing immediate relief, developing climate-resilient programs, and contributing to global advocacy, we aim to ensure children stay in school, workers are protected, and families can rebuild. The urgency is clear: to break the cycle of vulnerability and exploitation, we must address the climate crisis with holistic, human-centric solutions.

¹ CNN, ‘My body can’t take it’: Brutal nighttime temperatures give Delhi residents little respite from India’s searing heatwave
² Millions impacted by ‘catastrophic and massive floods’ in Bangladesh
³ United Nations, Nepal: Hundreds killed as ‘unprecedented’ flash floods strike capital Kathmandu
⁴ Government of Nepal Ministry of Forests and Environment, 2021, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment and Identifying Adaptation Options
⁵ Alliance 8.7, Pathfinder Country: Nepal