Climate change has caused over €145 billion in economic losses in the European Union over the past decade, according to data from the European Environmental Agency. The data also reveals that the economic cost of climate change has risen nearly 2% annually over the last decade.
In 2020 alone, the total climate-related economic losses amounted to €12 billion. The highest total loss was recorded in 2017, when heatwaves dried the land and caused widespread wildfires, costing a total of €27.9 billion.
“Climate change drives extreme weather and climate-related events, which in turn lead to economic losses,” Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, explains.
Credit: Eurostat
Per capita, climate change caused economic losses of €27 per EU inhabitant in 2020. The economic impact was highest for Greek residents who, on average, lost €91 in 2020.
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Credit: Eurostat
Belgium had the fifth highest economic losses per capita from global warming at €33, over 20% more than the EU average. The per capita economic impact of global warming has multiplied by almost seven in Belgium since 2018.
Tens of thousands of protesters recently descended onto the streets of Brussels to demand more ambitious measures to fight against climate change ahead of this year’s COP27 climate conference, which will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh next month.
Organisers of the event evoked the floods which caused massive damage in Belgium last year. More evidence, Climate Coalition says, of how “climate change is making itself felt all over the world.”
