Debate: Social and economic costs of climate change in light of the floods in Emilia Romagna, Marche and Toscana and the urgent need for European solidarity
Date: WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2023
Speaker: Janez Lenarčič
Language: EN

Four teams of nearly 130 specialised operators of heavy pumping equipment are based in the region. So far, they have evacuated enough water to submerge the Brussels Central Region by a metre over 12 times. All this is coordinated by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre and a dedicated DG ECHO liaison officer on the ground, and is aided by analysis and satellite maps from Copernicus. It is no surprise that this response was fast and efficient: the Emergency Response Coordination Centre had been closely following the situation in Italy for some time as part of our preparedness work. Already on 2 May, Copernicus rapid mapping was activated upon request from the Italian National Civil Protection Department, so we were ready to help the minute we were asked. Tragically, this disaster has already taken 14 lives and displaced more than 20 000 people. Communities were destroyed, businesses and farms have been gutted, infrastructure has been damaged, and the economic losses have been huge, impacting some of the crucial industrial and agricultural areas. At this stage, Italy explained that they do not need further civil protection support, but it is important to understand that while the immediate emergency is over, Italy will most likely need longer-term support to recover from these unprecedented floods and to build resilience against potential future disasters. Europe is there to help. This is this is not simply rhetoric: we are ready with multiple funds to help support the reconstruction Italy needs. In 2012, sadly, the Emilia-Romagna region suffered devastating earthquakes. In response, the EU Solidarity Fund was activated to help the country. Today, the fund again stands ready to be activated, following an application by Italy and acting within its budgetary availabilities. The Commission stands ready to support the Italian authorities with the preparation of the application. And we can mobilise the European Agricultural Crisis Reserve to support farmers who have lost crops and machinery. Emilia-Romagna has programmed the funds from the 2021-2027 European Regional Development Fund programme for tackling hydrogeological and flooding risks in the region, addressing the challenges it currently faces. The Commission is in contact with the region to check if further reprogramming is needed to tackle the emergency. We are also there strengthening Italy’s wider resilience to flooding. We will continue to support the implementation of Italy’s recovery and resilience plans, investing EUR 6 billion to implement reforms and investments to reduce hydrogeological risks. This figure could rise to EUR 8.5 billion. Indeed, on 25 May, Italy requested the activation of the Copernicus mapping services for flood and landslide analysis, and this will help to build a stronger recovery. In addition, the cohesion policy funds for 2021-2027 have earmarked EUR 1.3 billion to combat hydrogeological risks in Italy. So it is clear: Europe is standing by Italy, both with rapid response and in the long term supporting the country’s recovery and resilience. But we must also look at the bigger picture. This crisis is only one of the many growing instances of extreme weather events occurring with increased frequency and intensity around the world due to the climate crisis. Last year, Europe witnessed one of the worst wildfire seasons in recent history, hitting countries across the continent, including Italy. And two years ago, parts of Belgium and Germany were devastated by catastrophic flooding. Like the disaster we are discussing today, these emergencies are being exacerbated on all levels by the climate crisis. More and more often, they are overwhelming national capacities to respond. We must therefore continue to strengthen the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in the face of this increasingly dangerous reality, building collective resilience and improving prevention, strengthening preparedness and growing our response capacity at national and European level. This is why last February, we established the five disaster resilience goals: to enable countries to anticipate and withstand future emergencies. We must mobilise everything we have and accelerate the green transition so as to achieve a safer, stronger Europe for our citizens. President von der Leyen was at the disaster-struck region six days ago, meeting the Prime Minister, the regional authorities and also the EU civil protection teams and witnessing first-hand the devastation of the flooding. The President told Prime Minister Meloni and the people in Emilia-Romagna affected by this disaster, I quote, ‘