Requiring fossil fuel companies to contribute to climate resilience measures is a "hugely complicated" conversation, EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said today, when presenting a climate resilience law that would require member states to draw up adaptation plans and assess climate risks by 31 December 2030.
Hoekstra said there was a "clear case" for fossil fuel companies to contribute to the cost of climate resilience measures. "At the same time, it is complicated to then just, off the cuff, add something on top of the ETS," he said.
The European Commission pointed to estimated economic losses from climate damage of €200bn ($220.5bn) over 2022-25, or around €50bn/yr. Officials estimate the cost of adapting Europe's infrastructure and economy to future climate conditions at about €70bn/yr.
"The estimated return on investments in climate adaptation can reach more than 10 times their value in avoided loss and damage," the commission said. Loss and damage refers to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
The commission pointed at "prolonged heatwaves and droughts" over the summer which drove some of Europe's biggest rivers to historically low water levels.
This action is central for the EU's energy security because it will help authorities manage risks and safeguard energy supplies, EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said today. "We need to prepare our energy systems for climate impacts, ranging from low river levels that disrupt fuel transport and the functioning of power plants, to heatwaves that strain our electricity grids," he said.
Low Rhine water levels have left fuel terminals in Germany short of diesel and HVO as barges cannot use the key waterway. Low Danube water levels also impaired shipments of commodities such as oil products, fertilizers or wheat and disrupted nuclear power generation capacity.
Under the draft law, the commission would also have to present a strategic plan on climate resilience by 30 September 2028. The proposal is based on the assumption that existing global climate commitments will result in around 2°C of warming by 2050 and 3°C by 2100. Officials expect Europe to warm by 4-5°C over the same period.
Hoekstra said that the 1.5°C Paris agreement temperature limit remains the EU's goal, but he added that it would be unwise not to prepare for other scenarios. The Paris accord seeks to curb the global rise in temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and pursues a 1.5°C limit.
The Commission said it will "soon" present a European heatwave plan, a climate insurance alliance and a new European water initiative.
