Europe has become the fastest-warming region on the planet as climate change continues to drive dangerously high temperatures that impact society and nature.
That’s the headline finding of an extensive new report released this week, produced by a body of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Almost all of the continent experienced above-average temperatures last year, while wildfires burnt a record area size, with heatwaves striking many countries, it said. Several reasons were given for these findings, including Europe's proximity to the Arctic, which itself is warming at least three times faster than the global average.
The environmental effects of the surge in heat are not just being felt on land, as sea water temperatures have risen rapidly, and glaciers have melted. The report also noted that rising temperatures have been occurring as far back as 1980.
“We ignore at our peril"
One of the earliest prominent voices calling for action to limit emissions and protect the environment was King Charles III, who was also in the news this week. His much-anticipated speech to US Congress in Washington was full of pillow-soft words aimed at healing relations with the UK, but also made some telling references to the climate emergency. On that topic, his prose was harsher: “We ignore at our peril the fact that these natural systems – in other words, nature’s own economy – provide the foundation for our prosperity and our national security.”
The WMO report made for stark reading alongside that thought, with the projection that next year will be even hotter than the last across Europe. Another entity, the World Wildlife Fund, took the opportunity to point out that the report comes as the European Union prepares to draw up new laws governing the period after 2030 – likely to be comprehensive longer-term measures targeting specific reductive measures running until 2050.
More business taxes?
The implications for many businesses may be profound, and the proposals hotly contested. As Reuters outlined this week, there is the parallel consideration of how EU-driven climate action cuts across the trading bloc’s budgets, as Europe looks to fund increased defence spending, competitiveness, and service debts. Balancing the books may necessitate further payments coming to EU coffers from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, tobacco excise duty, and more business taxes.
For companies with assertive decarbonisation goals, the report is one more piece of evidence pointing to the need to both transition to a cleaner economy, and to tackle the impacts that are being caused by climate change.
But the economic picture across Europe, and the question of how quickly clean transitions can be supported – and by what policy measures – is one that firms will want to understand in depth, and potentially take a stand on as eyes focus on a 2050 horizon.
Written by
Steve Earl, experienced communications professional, and senior advisor at Blakeney.