Climate change is having a devastating effect on the European economy with extreme weather alone causing an average 12 billion euros (14.6 billion U.S. dollars) a year in losses, the European Commission's Executive Vice-President in charge of the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said here on Wednesday.
As he unveiled the European Union's (EU) newly adopted Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, he said these losses could shoot up to 170 billion euros a year if the three-degree-Celsius rise in temperature was not prevented.
There are also other developing threats like the sea level rise, which poses a risk to 40 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) generated in Europe's coastal areas.
The new strategy is meant to make the EU climate-neutral and climate-resilient by 2050, he said, adding that it will also prepare Europe for the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
Building on its 2013 Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, the EU's new strategy aims to shift the focus from understanding the problem to developing solutions, and to move from planning to implementation.
Among other things, the new strategy proposes smarter adaptation and increased data-sharing so that farmers can better plan the crops they plant and families buying a home will know what climate risks they may face.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder that insufficient preparation can have dire consequences. There is no vaccine against the climate crisis, but we can still fight it and prepare for its unavoidable effects," he said.
"The new climate adaptation strategy equips us to speed up and deepen preparations. If we get ready today, we can still build a climate-resilient tomorrow," he said. (1 euro = 1.21 U.S. dollars)
Editor: Leon
