Debate: Devastating Bushfires in Australia and other extreme weather events as a consequence of Climate Change
Date: MONDAY, 13 JANUARY 2020
Speaker: Maroš Šefčovič
Language: EN

We know that it will be a very challenging year and therefore I very much appreciate that you have already put as the first item on the plenary agenda this urgent debate on the devastating bush fires in Australia. As you know, my Commissioner colleagues are now coming to Strasbourg from Luxembourg, where they have been pledging the oath to their office at the European Court of Justice, and therefore it would be my pleasure and my honour to represent the European Commission in the afternoon’s plenary debates with you. As you very well know – and as Australia has confirmed – these fires which we are going to debate are unprecedented. They have devastated local communities, they have led to the tragic loss of homes and they have taken the lives of people and, possibly, of over a billion animals, many of which are completely unique in the world. Beyond the immediate destruction of forest, land, lives, animals and ecosystems, these wildfires jeopardise health and livelihoods in other places as well. Canberra experienced peak air pollution levels that were 20 times above the hazardous threshold, to give just one example. First and foremost, we send our support and solidarity to Australia. The European Union stands ready to help the Australian people. Yesterday, my colleague Commissioner Lenarčič reached out and spoke to the Australian Minister Littleproud and he reiterated the Union’s readiness to assist Australia in this moment of crisis. He also informed the Minister of the possibility for, in particular, firefighters to be deployed at short notice under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. The Minister appreciated the support and readiness of the Union to help, but he reiterated that at this stage they don’t require additional assistance. The science is loud and clear. Climate change will increase the frequency of extreme weather events and these events will continue to affect us, and with more and more consequences and higher and higher intensity. Do we need more proof that the prevention of climate change and environmental destruction, adaptation and disaster risk prevention, are absolutely necessary, and that we need to mitigate the effects of climate change together in Europe, in Australia and in the rest of the world? We have discussed many times in recent months the importance of EU leadership on global climate action. The effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and increasing global ambition is a key priority under the European Green Deal. The European Union will use all the tools at our disposal to tackle the global climate challenge. Our bilateral engagement with partner countries is crucial, in particular with the G20 economies that are responsible for three-quarters of global emissions. We value our long-standing partnership with Australia and are working to strengthen it through the establishment of the Dialogue on Climate Action under the Framework Agreement. The Commission thanks the Parliament for tabling this urgent debate and for seeing the climate urgency in these tragic events and especially in these circumstances, where we need to highlight the need to take global action. This is yet another proof of Europe’s ambition to take leadership against climate change, and on this the Commission will always remain on your side.