In recent years, droughts have significantly affected regions across the EU. However, accurate assessment and quantification of drought risks and their impacts had remained challenging due to the complex nature of these events. Droughts cannot be easily defined or predicted: they develop gradually, can occur outside of seasonal patterns, and may persist over extended periods. […]
Heat waves and the spread of infectious diseases due to climate change are growing health threats
While there is growing recognition of the importance of addressing the impacts of climate change on human health, the time has come to move from planning to action and improve awareness among health and public health professionals to make Europe’s population more resilient, according to the EEA report “Climate change as a threat to health […]
EU responses to climate change
Fighting climate change is a priority for the European Parliament. Below you will find details of the solutions the EU and the Parliament are working on: Mitigating global warming: a matter of 2°C increase Average global temperatures have risen significantly since the industrial revolution and the last decade (2011–2020) was the warmest decade on record. Of […]
New European Commission report analyzes links between demographics and climate change
The Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) has today published a new report entitled “Demography and Climate Change – The EU in the Global Context”. The report shows that population growth remains one of the main drivers of emissions. But there is a wide divergence in the relationship between population growth rates and greenhouse gas emission […]
How much have different countries contributed to climate change since 1850?
A new study ranks countries’ culpability based on their emissions of key greenhouse gases. Research published in the journal ‘Scientific Data’ offers new insight on countries’ contributions to global warming caused by CO2, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions between 1851 and 2021. Supported by the EU-funded VERIFY, 4C, PARIS REINFORCE and ESM2025 projects, […]
We need to urgently address climate change and halt and reverse biodiversity loss
This issue is alarmingly serious. Our planet is warming and destroying species at an alarming rate. Two global conferences in the last two months have brought people from around the world together on a common theme: climate and biodiversity. The challenges in both areas are symptoms of the same problem: the unsustainability of our production […]
Another year of climate extremes for Europe
According to the latest edition of the European State of the Climate Report (ESOTC), 2022 was yet another year of extremes. Not only did Europe see its hottest summer ever recorded, with temperatures reaching 1.4°C above average, much of Europe experienced prolonged and intense heatwaves. Europe’s lakes and seas also saw increasing surface temperatures. While […]
European Parliament approves new law to fight global deforestation
In response to climate change and biodiversity loss, new laws require companies to ensure that their products do not cause deforestation or forest degradation. While no country or raw material would be banned, companies can only sell products in the EU if their suppliers have issued a “due diligence” declaration. It must demonstrate that the […]
Global agreement on protection and sustainable use of resources and biodiversity in high seas
Global negotiations concluded on the landmark Treaty of the High Seas to protect the ocean, tackle environmental degradation, fight climate change, and prevent biodiversity loss. The new treaty will allow to establish large-scale marine protected areas on the high seas, which are also necessary to meet the global commitment of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Agreement concluded last December to […]