Driftspace
The European Environment Agency published a briefing this month concluding that
The European Environment Agency published a briefing this month concluding that extreme weather events in 2026 — including prolonged heat, drought, wildfires and severe storms — cost the European Union the equivalent of at least one percent of its total economic output. The analysis identifies disruption across transport networks, energy systems and water supply, and argues that the pace of adapting critical infrastructure to withstand future climate pressures needs to increase substantially. The findings coincide with reports from global monitoring services that October 2026 was the hottest October in recorded history, and that the year as a whole is on course to be only the second in recorded history to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial temperatures. As damages of this scale become harder to absorb, the debate over who pays for climate adaptation — governments, the insurance industry, businesses or households — is sharpening across the continent. When extreme weather causes economic losses at this scale, how do you think the costs should be shared?