The devastation wrought on Europe by the harsh weather came just days after the European Union’s announcement ambitious scheme Moving away from fossil fuels over the next nine years as part of plans to make the 27-nation bloc carbon-neutral by 2050. Environmental activists and politicians have been quick to draw parallels between floods and the effects of climate change.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, He said on Friday The floods were a clear indicator of climate change.
“It is the intensity and length of events that science tells us is a clear indication of climate change,” said Ms. von der Leyen. “It shows the urgency of action.”
Floods are a complex phenomenon with many causes, including land development and land conditions. While linking climate change to a single flood event requires extensive scientific analysis, climate change, which already causes heavy rains in many storms, is an increasingly important part of the mix. Warmer weather holds and releases more water, whether in the form of rain or heavy winter snow.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany, also blamed climate change for the floods: “Only when we take action against climate change can we keep the events we are witnessing now within limits,” he said in a televised statement from Berlin.
The impact of climate change is one of the issues hotly debated in Germany ahead of the September elections in which the Greens are vying for second place, behind the conservative Christian Democrats.
“The catastrophic results of the torrential rains of the past few days are largely home-made,” said Holger Stecht, who heads the regional branch of the HSBC. Friends of the Earth in Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia. He blamed lawmakers and industry for building in floodplains and forests. “We urgently need to change course.”
“Our state is experiencing a flood disaster of historic scale,” Armin Laschet, leader of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said at a press conference on Friday.
“We have to make the country more climate-resilient,” said Mr. Laschet. “We have to make Germany climate neutral faster.”
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