The European Commission presented a new climate resilience framework on Tuesday that aims to help EU countries anticipate, prepare and manage climate risks caused by global warming.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the framework, titled 'A resilient Europe for a changing climate,' is needed to ensure Europe properly addresses a potential impending climate crisis. The Commission is projecting that global annual revenues from climate resilience solutions could quadruple to €3.5 trillion by 2050 if a proper framework isn't implemented.
"To become truly climate resilient, we need to adjust and learn along the way," von der Leyen said. "We are ensuring that climate resilience will be included in policies across the continent, supporting investment, innovation and long-term growth.”
According to the Commission, scientific evidence shows that global temperatures are expected to rise 2°C above pre-industrial levels by 2050 and 3°C by the end of the century. Pre-industrial is usually defined as between 1850 and 1900.
To ensure EU countries are properly prepared for these potential increases, the Commission also proposed a Climate Resilience Law that establishes a common reference trajectory that EU countries can refer to when they incorporate projected warming into national planning and policy decisions.
Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero, and Clean Growth emphasised that these conversations can't wait and that this proposal protects both the current and future generations.
"Our society and economy need to become ‘resilient by design,’ or we’ll risk disaster by default," Hoekstra stated.
The Commission also acknowledged that these projected climate impacts won't affect countries, businesses, or individuals equally. So, to ensure these proposals equitably help all Europeans, a "Climate Insurance Alliance" will be created to improve insurance protection and support risk prevention for the top 100 most climate vulnerable territories across Europe.
