The European Commission is preparing a climate change adaptation framework that aims to identify the risks of each territory. Teresa Ribera warns that heat does not affect all people equally.
The European Commission is preparing a new climate change adaptation framework that, according to Diario de Sevilla in an interview with Teresa Ribera during her visit to Seville, aims to identify the most significant risks in each territory and determine which groups are most vulnerable.
The Executive Vice-President of the Commission, responsible for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, explains that a heatwave does not affect everyone in the same way. Older people, those living in poorly insulated homes, or those working outdoors are more exposed, and there are areas built in flood-prone zones.
In a survey of 2,400 European cities, 91% identified heatwaves among their main concerns, and 86% pointed to the availability of drinking water during drought periods.
What is important is to incorporate the climate factor into the overall public investment decisions, sectoral policies, and many private decisions.
Ribera argues that the lack of adaptation puts crops at risk, strains hospitals and electrical systems, and can affect transportation. Andalusia, like other regions, will need to conduct a cross-cutting analysis of these risks.
Regarding the new community budget, currently under negotiation while some countries call for more austerity, the Vice-President presents two options: to strengthen a European Union with greater commercial and geopolitical weight through a common effort, or to reduce the shared budget and let each state decide for itself.
When asked about the warning from Andalusian President Juanma Moreno regarding the recentralisation of cohesion funds, she responds that flexibility cannot leave regions and cities behind, as most European policies are implemented at the local level.
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