This is a real warning shot from the European Environment Agency (EEA). Europe could face “catastrophic” situations if it does not take stock of the climate risks it faces, many of which are already at a critical level, warns the EEA.
“The extreme heat, drought, wildfires and floods that we have experienced in recent years in Europe will worsen, including in optimistic scenarios of global warming, and will affect living conditions across the continent” , wrote the agency in a press release presenting its first report on the assessment of climate risks in Europe.
“These events represent the new normal,” insisted AEE director Leena Ylä-Mononen during a press briefing. “They must also be a warning shot.”
36 climate risks
The study lists 36 major climate risks for Europe. 21 of them require more immediate action and eight require an emergency response. First and foremost among them are the risks linked to ecosystems, mainly marine and coastal. For example, the combined effects of marine heat waves, acidification and oxygen depletion of the seas and other anthropogenic factors (pollution, fishing, etc.) threaten the functioning of marine ecosystems, the report noted. “This may result in substantial loss of biodiversity, including mass mortality events,” it added.
For the EEA, the priority is for European governments and populations to unanimously recognize the risks and agree to do more, faster.
“We need to do more, have stronger policies,” insisted Leena Ylä-Mononen. The agency, however, recognized the “considerable progress” made “in understanding climate risks […] and in preparing for these risks.
Highly exposed areas
For the EEA, the most exposed areas are southern Europe (fires, water shortage and its effects on agricultural production, impact of heat on outdoor work and health) and coastal regions in low altitude (flooding, erosion, salt water intrusion).
However, northern Europe is not spared, the institution underlined, as evidenced by the recent floods in Germany or the forest fires in Sweden.