The European Union is ill-prepared for the worsening climate change, according to independent advisers. They urge the EU to step up its efforts to protect people and infrastructure from extreme weather events, such as floods, wildfires, and heatwaves. The economic damage from climate impacts is already 45 billion euros annually, five times higher than in the 1980s. The EU's strategy on climate resilience is due later this year, but its efforts have fallen short on adapting to the extreme weather climate change is already fueling. The advisory board's chair, Ottmar Edenhofer, attributes this to a lack of coherence, coordination, and budget. Without stronger preparations, extreme weather will further harm the EU's competitiveness, straining public budgets and increasing security risks. The advisers recommend the EU agree to prepare, across all member states, for risks associated with 2.8 to 3.3°C of warming by 2100. This should be used to develop policies to help people and businesses adapt, such as ensuring housing is not built in flood-exposed areas, planning support for drought-hit farmers, or designing cities to help people stay cool when temperatures spike. The average global temperature is now 1.4C higher than in pre-industrial times. Countries' latest national climate pledges, if achieved, would still lead to 2.3 - 2.5°C of global warming this century, according to the UN. Another key area is investing in public early warning systems and increasing insurance coverage, for example, by considering EU-level reinsurance. Only a quarter of climate-related economic losses in the EU are currently insured. The European Commission will propose a new strategy on 'climate resilience' later this year, following weather disasters including 2023 floods in Slovenia, whose reconstruction costs equaled 11% of the country's GDP, and Europe's worst wildfire season on record last year.
