EU climate rules to require clear accountability for disaster preparation
Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra says Europe needs to prepare for warming scenarios reaching 3°C by 2100, alongside efforts to reduce emissions.
The European Commission plans to introduce legislation obliging EU governments to name the authorities responsible for climate disaster preparedness, Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said. Each country would choose how to divide those duties between its national, regional and local administrations.
Hoekstra warned that temperatures globally were on course to exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit, either temporarily or for longer. Emissions reductions would not remove the need to prepare for worsening heat and other climate disasters, he said, citing scenarios reaching 3°C of global warming by 2100.
The Commission wants the planning of bridges, roads and neighbourhoods to reflect climate scenarios rather than past weather patterns. Hoekstra highlighted city heat plans and infrastructure preparation, putting economic losses from the summer’s extreme weather at more than €100 billion.
The climate resilience strategy is not expected to include a fresh financial pledge for households. Hoekstra instead cited a proposed EU budget allocation of 35 per cent for climate and nature. The Commission is also counting on the European Investment Bank’s recently announced €30 billion for adaptation through 2030.
Negotiations on the next multiannual EU budget will partly determine how effective the strategy is, as climate spending competes with other priorities. The Commission also wants insurance-sector cooperation: a senior Commission official said coverage extends to only around 25 per cent of assets facing climate impacts.
