The Big Wobble : WATER WARS! In the same week Europe's 'Eye On The Earth,' Copernicus Warned Of Increasing Record-Breaking Temperatures: A leaked European Commission document warns climate change will have a destructive impact on water supplies in Europe costing €trillions

Sunday 10 March 2024

WATER WARS! In the same week Europe's 'Eye On The Earth,' Copernicus Warned Of Increasing Record-Breaking Temperatures: A leaked European Commission document warns climate change will have a destructive impact on water supplies in Europe costing €trillions

The Huveaune river bed went dry during the 2022 European heatwave, credit Wikipedia.

This week, the Copernicus website, Europe's 'Eye On The Earth,' reported February 2024 was globally the warmest on record and was the ninth month in a row that was the warmest on record for the respective month of the year. Report here

On the same day, a leaked European Commission document warned climate change will have a destructive impact on water supplies in many member states—Climate change is putting EU water resources under pressure and could trigger conflicts within states and between member countries of the bloc over water supplies, according to a report from Politico on Wednesday, citing a leaked communique drafted by the European Commission.

According to the outlet, the bloc's executive arm will warn member states next week of rising climate risks. Brussels has reportedly said the EU was not doing enough to address the issue and is urging governments to speed up in their preparations to counter global warming. The Commission's document identified water scarcity as one of the top risks facing its 27 member countries. Water shortages threaten almost every aspect of life and could reportedly provoke a race for supply within the EU, officials warned."These risks can manifest in multiple forms, some of which include increased competition over water resources across sectors and uses, including the potential risk of conflicts within and among the member states over transboundary water resources," according to the draft cited by Politico.

While green policies are facing a backlash in the EU, pressure on water resources is mounting due to increased extreme weather events, such as heavy rain resulting in floods and drought leading to water scarcity, the outlet said, citing the draft communique. The report warns of the destructive impact of climate change on EU economies and adds that some member countries are already experiencing clashes over supplies. Competition for water sparked disputes between regions in Spain earlier this year. Catalonia, which currently faces the worst drought on record, tried to persuade the Madrid government last month to divert water through the Ebro River from neighbouring Aragon.

In France climate activists clashed with police last year protesting against the construction of water reservoirs for farmers, Politico noted. The European Commission reportedly estimates that worsening climate impacts could slash the bloc's economic output by 7% until the year 2100. Water-related risks such as coastal flooding could cost the EU €1.6 trillion ($1.75tn) in annual damage.

"Climate resilience is a matter of competitiveness for economies and companies, and thus jobs. It is a matter of economic survival for rural and coastal areas, farmers, foresters and fishermen," the document states. The European Commission pointed out that even with some policies in place, management of global warming in the bloc is well short of providing "reasonable assurance," its document points out. It also warns that in future the EU could face more climate-change-related "disasters" such as "droughts, floods, wildfires, diseases, crop failures, heat deaths, infrastructure damage, and structural changes to the environment."

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