Climate Change Costs EU $26 Bln Annually

The European Court of Auditors has revealed that the average economic losses from extreme weather events in the European Union have reached €26 billion per year over the past decade.

According to a report published by the Court, an official body of the EU, the exposure of the current EU economy to global warming by 1.5-3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels would lead to annual economic losses ranging from €42 billion to €175 billion in the coming years.

Klaus-Heiner-Lehen, a member of the European Court of Auditors, said failure by the EU to improve its climate change adaptation measures would have serious consequences.

The auditors examined the national adjustment policies of Austria, Estonia, France and Poland and found that they were generally consistent with the European Union strategy.

However, the auditors also found cases of outdated scientific data in national adaptation-strategy documents, and either underestimates or omissions of the cost of adaptation measures.

It is worth mentioning that climate adaptation objectives had to coexist with other objectives, such as competitiveness or regional development.