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Summer of 2023: Climate Change Feels Real for Midlands Residents
Confirmed
In Short: In a particularly challenging summer, residents of the Midlands are experiencing firsthand the impacts of climate change, leading to questions about whether this year marks a turning point.
The summer was marked by floods, dry spells, and heatwaves, with one expert stating, "The climate the UK was designed for no longer exists, and we have no choice but to adapt." The heat was so intense that wave after wave felt like boiling, according to the BBC. This summer, the climate crisis is no longer just a distant threat; it is a tangible reality for many.
In response to the growing urgency, the EU is considering new measures to adapt to climate change. In early September, Madrid called for binding EU climate adaptation targets, five-yearly climate-risk assessments, and a dedicated EU Climate Adaptation Fund. The EU traditionally focused on climate mitigation, but adaptation is now seen as crucial, as global warming impacts become more frequent and severe.
The Spanish push for adaptation measures comes ahead of a new European Climate Resilience and Risk Management framework expected later this year from the European Commission. This framework is necessary given the mounting economic losses from weather and climate-related extremes, estimated at €822 billion in the EU between 1980 and 2024, with a significant portion concentrated in the last four years.
However, the push for adaptation must also address the uneven distribution of climate damages and the varying fiscal capacities of regions to invest in resilience. Knowledge about how to better adapt to climate change is often local, and this must be taken into account as the EU develops its new framework.
What's confirmed
- The summer was marked by floods, dry spells, and heatwaves, with one expert stating, "The climate the UK was designed for no longer exists, and we have no choice but to adapt." The heat was so intense that wave after wave felt like boiling, according to the BBC. This summer, the climate crisis is no longer just a distant threat; it is a tangible reality for many.
- In response to the growing urgency, the EU is considering new measures to adapt to climate change. In early September, Madrid called for binding EU climate adaptation targets, five-yearly climate-risk assessments, and a dedicated EU Climate Adaptation Fund. The EU traditionally focused on climate mitigation, but adaptation is now seen as crucial, as global warming impacts become more frequent and severe.
- The Spanish push for adaptation measures comes ahead of a new European Climate Resilience and Risk Management framework expected later this year from the European Commission. This framework is necessary given the mounting economic losses from weather and climate-related extremes, estimated at €822 billion in the EU between 1980 and 2024, with a significant portion concentrated in the last four years.
- However, the push for adaptation must also address the uneven distribution of climate damages and the varying fiscal capacities of regions to invest in resilience. Knowledge about how to better adapt to climate change is often local, and this must be taken into account as the EU develops its new framework.
What's still developing
- Meanwhile "risk to water supplies" is another climate change issue identified by the Met Office, and Severn Trent is working to tackle that.
- Everywhere you look in the region, people are dealing with the identified issues climate change is causing and it's costing all of us money.
- This summer, 19 homes were destroyed by a major fire that broke out in Stourbridge Is this the year climate change became real for people of the Midlands?
- I mean climate change is real, I've spent a 25-year career telling people it is real and documenting its impact on the region: Floods, dry spells, heatwaves and more.
- The EU has traditionally focused on climate mitigation efforts, but adaptation is becoming vitally important, determining how much damage Europe suffers from the warming that can no longer be avoided.
- As global warming impacts are increasingly felt, the EU should turn climate adaptation from a national responsibility into a genuine European policy In the wake of a particularly difficult summer of extreme heat and extensive wildfires, Spain has provided what could prove a significant push for more measures to cope with the impact of climate change.