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Brussels (dpa) - From the point of view of the EU Commission, Europe must arm itself much more specifically against the already inevitable consequences of climate change in order to keep billions in damage within limits.
In Brussels, Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans presented an adaptation strategy that primarily relies on the exchange of information on the local consequences of global warming, future risks and successful countermeasures.
Billions of sums are available from various EU pots.
Critics find the plan too vague.
In the past, people were reluctant to talk about adaptation strategies because that would have seemed like admitting defeat in terms of climate protection, said Timmermans.
Both are necessary, however, because the climate crisis is already affecting every place in Europe: "The strategy must help to make the European Union not only climate-neutral by 2050, but also climate-resistant."
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According to Timmermans, the economic damage caused by the effects of climate change in the EU currently averages twelve billion euros per year.
If the warming were not stopped at less than two degrees as planned, but only at three degrees compared to pre-industrial times, the losses would grow to at least 170 billion euros per year, the commission calculated.
According to Timmerman, the natural disaster with the most deaths in the world in 2019 was the European heat wave that killed 2,500 people.
With the extreme weather, unprecedented forest fires, devastating droughts and cyclones would have increased.
The Commission also counts an unprecedented spread of bark beetles in Central and Eastern Europe as one of the consequences of climate change.
The effects would affect sectors ranging from agriculture to fish cultures, tourism and power generation to goods traffic on rivers.
Farmers have to be prepared for the fact that rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere will affect their crops, but also drought or floods.
Buildings can not only be swept away by storms, but their substance would also be endangered by rising or falling water levels.
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The cornerstones of Timmerman's counter-strategy are: more knowledge about the effects of climate change, more precise assessment of the risks;
react faster;
help our international partners to a greater extent.
For example, the commission is relying on an exact recording of the damage and data exchange on risks and countermeasures on an internet platform called Climate Adapt.
In addition, "systemic" countermeasures should be taken, that is, at all levels of politics, society and the economy.
Timmermans announced talks with the EU states which holes the climate impacts could tear into public finances.
He also wants to talk to the insurance industry: "Too often, the financial burden of natural disasters remains with uninsured families or companies or with the public sector."
Third point are accelerated solutions: There is still a big gap from planning to implementation of countermeasures, Timmermans criticized.
Financially, the European Investment Bank should help more with adaptation measures.
In principle, there can also be money for this from the EU structural funds, joint agricultural subsidies and the new Corona development fund RRF with more than 670 billion euros.
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For the Greens, however, Timmermans' plan is too vague.
"The strategy for climate adaptation is urgently needed, but disappointing," criticized MEP Michael Bloss.
"The search for something specific becomes the search for a needle in a haystack."
The Climate Action Network of environmental organizations also criticized the fact that there were no binding targets.
The SPD MEP Delara Burkhardt reminded that climate change affects the poor, the elderly and the sick.
"The strategy must pay special attention to these groups of people," demanded Burkhardt.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210224-99-574834 / 2
Communication from the EU Commission on the adaptation strategy dated February 24, 2021
Questions and answers from the EU Commission on the adaptation strategy from February 24, 2021
Climate Adapt information platform