BRUSSELS — Act now or climate change will wreak catastrophic damage on Europe.
That’s the blunt message scientists sent to the European Union’s leaders on Monday in the first-ever report on climate risks facing the bloc from the European Environment Agency (EEA).
The EEA, an EU body conducting independent research to inform policymaking, warned that the bloc is unprepared for the effects of climate change even if the world manages to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as set down in the Paris Agreement.
Every extra tenth of a degree will bring more coastal floods, yearslong droughts and scorching heat spells, the researchers said, meaning Brussels and EU governments must quickly accelerate preparations to protect lives and livelihoods.
