On the devastating floods in Central and Eastern Europe, the loss of lives and the EU’s preparedness to act on such disasters exacerbated by climate change

–having regard to its resolution of 28 November 2019 on the climate and environment emergency,

–having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2020 on the EU strategy on adaptation to climate change,

–having regard to the European Charter on Water Resources,

–having regard to the European Environment Agency (EEA) Report 01/2024 on European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA),

–having regard to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report entitled ‘Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability’,

–having regard to the assessment reports and special reports of the IPCC,

–having regard to the Commission communication of 24 February 2021 entitled ‘Forging a climate-resilient Europe – the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change’ (COM(2021)0082),

–having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (Common Provisions Regulation),

–having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on the European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund (ERDF/CF),

–having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund,

–having regard to the Commission communication of 29 May 2024 entitled ‘Evaluation of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism - Strengthening EU’s emergency preparedness’ (COM(2024)0212),

–having regard to the Commission report of 12 March 2024 on progress on implementation of Article 6 of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (Decision No 1313/2013/EU), ‘Preventing and managing disaster risks in Europe’ (COM(2024)0130),

–having regard to its resolution of 15 June 2023 on a European Day for the victims of the global climate crisis,

–having regard to the EEA report entitled ‘Responding to climate change impacts on human health in Europe: focus on floods, droughts and water quality’,

–having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas extremely heavy and persistent rainfall from Storm Boris has caused catastrophic floods in countries across central and eastern Europe, particularly in Poland, Romania, Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia; whereas many areas in the region have received the rainfall equivalent of several months’ rain in just a few days; whereas the rainfall is expected to stop mid-week in the region, but it may take days for the floodwaters to subside;

B.whereas so far, at least 18 people have lost their lives owing to the floods, and several people are reported missing in countries in the region; whereas tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes; whereas thousands of people’s homes and possessions have been destroyed by the flooding;

C.whereas the heavy rain and floods have inflicted severe damage on crucial infrastructure; whereas several bridges collapsed and several dams were breached, flooding cities and towns downstream; whereas thousands of people have been left without electricity, heating and drinking water;

D.whereas 2023 was the warmest year on record, and the average global temperature in the 12-month period from February 2023 to January 2024 exceeded pre-industrial levels by 1.5° C;

E.whereas the extreme weather phenomena this summer have had a serious impact on people’s livelihoods; whereas continuous pressure from floods, drought and extreme heat, as well as other climate change-induced weather phenomena, have impacted the natural resources upon which people depend; whereas other climate change effects, namely slow onset effects, also have devastating impacts on livelihoods;

F.whereas immediate and ambitious action is crucial to limiting global warming to 1.5° C, so as to avoid massive biodiversity loss, the degradation of ecosystems, resource scarcity, pollution and increased health risks; whereas the effects of the climate crisis are already being felt all around the world and continue to worsen at an alarming rate;

G.whereas humanity is not on track to limit global warming in line with the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels; whereas currently fully implementing unconditional nationally determined contributions (NDCs) made under the Paris Agreement would put the world on track to limit the temperature rise to 2.9 °C above pre-industrial levels this century;

H.whereas we only have one more chance to solve these environmental and social crises; whereas we can only face these common challenges effectively if we approach all these crises collectively; whereas the new Commission is the last to be able to put forward proposals to solve these crises and it cannot afford to fail in this task;

I.whereas the EEA Climate Risk Assessment report (EUCRA) underlines that Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world and its temperatures are rising at roughly twice the global average due to climate change, with downpours and other precipitation extremes increasing in severity, with recent years seeing catastrophic floods in various regions, in parallel with considerable declines in overall rainfall and more severe droughts; whereas the report raises the alarm that several climate risks have already reached critical levels and require decisive action now;

J.whereas the EUCRA stresses that if decisive action is not taken now, most climate risks identified could reach critical or catastrophic levels by the end of this century, including for example economic losses from coastal floods, which alone could exceed EUR 1 trillion per year; whereas the report emphasises that the extent to which the EU can avoid harm will largely depend on how quickly global greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced, and how fast and effectively our societies can prepare and adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change;

K.whereas degraded ecosystems contribute to flooding and exacerbate its consequences; whereas healthy ecosystems with free-flowing rivers, wetlands, retention areas and flood plains will have a much higher capacity for water retention;

L.whereas climate change is a risk multiplier that can exacerbate existing risks and crises; whereas cascading climate risks can lead to system-wide challenges affecting whole societies, with vulnerable social groups particularly affected;

M.whereas the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF), established by Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002, created following the great floods that hit central Europe in 2002, provides financial assistance to Member States and accession countries struck by major natural (and regional) disasters and major public health emergencies; whereas the EUSF represents the materialisation of a will of solidarity towards the populations of the EU’s regions affected by such disasters;

N.whereas, according to Eurobarometer data, most Europeans think that the transition to a green economy should be sped up, and almost 4 in 10 EU citizens say they are personally exposed to environmental and climate-related risks and threats;

O.whereas currently one in eight Europeans live in areas potentially prone to river flooding and the current patterns of development in risk areas put more and more people in harm’s way; whereas many of these areas have flood defence systems, but the level of protection they offer varies; whereas the growing risk of large-scale flooding from rivers, sea and heavy rainfall under the changing climate across most of Europe will multiply the number of people exposed and challenge our current protective infrastructure, requiring concerted action to prevent loss of life and damage to health; whereas floods not only pose a risk to the physical health of Europeans, but also have a potentially harmful effect on their mental health;

P.whereas according to the EEA, more floods and extreme rainfall can threaten the achievement of zero pollution ambitions in Europe, as combined sewer overflows, damage to industrial facilities and run-off from fields and streets affect our water quality;

Q.whereas floods, like other weather extremes, affect vulnerable groups more severely than the population at large; whereas senior citizens, children, those in poor health and economically disadvantaged groups, as well as emergency service teams and clean-up professionals, are consistently the groups most affected by floods and suffer physically and mentally the most, either immediately after extreme weather events or in the long term; whereas groups lacking stable housing and that depend on precarious labour are more immediately affected by natural disasters; whereas another key group prone to cascading health impacts from droughts and floods are farmers and rural communities more broadly, whose livelihoods depend on suitable and predictable weather and stable climate;

R.whereas the EU has made a commitment, through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), to support, coordinate and supplement the action of Member States in the field of civil protection to prevent, prepare for and respond to natural and human-induced disasters within and outside the Union;

S.whereas an evaluation of the current UCPM adopted by the Commission in May 2024 shows that a more coordinated response across different sectors and levels will be needed in the face of the increasing number and severity of complex emergencies; whereas this evaluation also raised concerns that the UCPM’s flexibility might not be sufficient to address new needs, with disasters becoming ever more frequent and complex, with climate change exacerbating this trend;

T.whereas a mechanism additional to the UCPM, rescEU, was created in 2019, ensuring that European countries have an additional layer of protection in cases of natural disasters, whereas the Member State concerned must place adequate resources at the disposal of those affected;

U.whereas during a transitional period of five years, the Commission has been providing funding to ensure that national capacities are quickly available as part of rescEU capacities;

V.whereas these devastating floods occur not only in Europe but around the globe, whereas typhoon Yagi, the strongest typhoon of the year so far, has claimed hundreds of lives and hundreds of thousands of homes in East Asia;

W.whereas the heavy rainfall in central and eastern Europe is occurring at the same time as devastating wildfires in Portugal, where several people have lost their lives due to the fires and several villages have been evacuated; whereas the UCPM has been activated to send aircraft from other Member States to the affected region;

1.Expresses its sympathy for and solidarity with those who have lost their lives, loved ones and livelihoods in central and eastern Europe as a result of the flooding caused by Storm Boris;

2.Commends the efforts to help the victims of the floods and welcomes the offers of assistance to the affected regions, including from Ukraine; commends the often daring rescues that emergency workers have made;

3.Stresses that the enormous damage in the region will require massive efforts to restore and repair, and calls for solidarity with and assistance to the affected regions;

4.Recognises that extreme precipitation has increased in large parts of Europe, leading to growing flood risks and devastating floods in recent years, with this trend expected to rise further in a warming climate; points to how Europe has suffered from other deadly floods in the recent past (Emilia-Romagna floods 2023, European floods 2021) and how other parts of the world are also facing similar risks and climate change impacts;

5.Is shocked, but not amazed, at the catastrophic effects of floods and other weather extremes exacerbated by climate change; points out that scientific evidence has long been clear that weather extremes will get more severe and, without a proper response from the EU and its Member States, the situation will get worse; stresses that stronger efforts on climate change adaptation are needed, but the most critical action to prevent even more catastrophic floods and other weather extremes is to accelerate EU and global efforts to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, while avoiding a climate overshoot that risks crossing the tipping point of the climatic system;

6.Warns that the consequences of the climate and environmental emergency, like the current flooding in central and eastern Europe, will become increasingly frequent, widespread and serious;

7.Stresses that in order to ensure the safety of EU citizens, a strong and ambitious EU 2040 climate goal that is aligned with the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 °C is needed; emphasises that strong climate change mitigation and the stability of the climatic system is a precondition for a striving agricultural sector in the EU and therefore essential to ensure food safety and the socio-economic well-being of farmers and rural areas of the EU;

8.Believes that the EU and its Member States cannot achieve their climate targets unless the transition is just and leaves no one behind, as policies are dependent on public support; strongly believes that more focus and a stronger framework is needed to tackle the short- and medium-term socio-economic impacts of the transition, especially for low-income households; points out that intergenerational climate justice requires a swift and permanent mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, as the pursuit of welfare by the current generation should not diminish opportunities for a good and decent life for succeeding generations;

9.Recalls that weather extremes are getting more frequent and severe globally; points out that as a rich continent with well-functioning infrastructure, the EU is much more prepared for weather extremes than many other parts of the world; believes that the EU should do more to support developing nations to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to unavoidable impacts of climate change; recalls that United Nations chief António Guterres has urged developed countries to hit net-zero emissions by 2040;

10.Reiterates its commitment to urgently take the concrete action needed to fight and contain the threat from the climate and environmental emergency before it is too late;

11.Recalls that the climate and biodiversity crises and growing social and economic inequalities are the most important challenges facing humanity and that they need to be tackled together and effectively; underlines that a fundamental policy change, timely international cooperation, solidarity and highly ambitious commitments are the only way to keep global warming below 1.5 °C and tackle inequality; believes that all climate and environmental policies must be transformative and lead to a radical, systematic and global revolution in our modes of production, consumption and distribution;

12.Reiterates the need for the incoming Commission to fully assess the climate and environmental impact of all relevant legislative and budgetary proposals, and ensure that they are all fully aligned with the objective of limiting global warming to under 1.5 °C, and that they are not contributing to biodiversity loss;

13.Reiterates the need for the incoming Commission to address the inconsistencies of current Union policies on the climate and environmental emergency, in particular through a far-reaching reform of its agricultural, trade, transport, energy and infrastructure investment policies;

14.Reaffirms its commitment to the European Green Deal and commits to an ambitious and holistic approach to ensuring its full translation into the EU acquis;

15.Highlights the need for EU adaptation policies and their practical implementation to focus on nature-based solutions that protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits; stresses that in addition to the climate crisis, the EU and humanity is facing a biodiversity crisis and efforts to tackle one of these problems cannot undermine the other;

16.Emphasises that green infrastructure contributes to flood management and other forms of adaptation to climate change through the protection of natural resources, the conservation of natural habitats and species, good ecological status, water management and food security;

17.Notes also that progress on the number of local and regional adaptation strategies has been more limited than expected, with differences between Member States; encourages the Member States to incentivise and help regions implement adaptation plans and take action; underlines that adaptation strategies should take due account of territorial specificities and local knowledge; calls on the Commission to ensure that all EU regions are prepared to tackle the impacts of climate change through adaptation; recognises, in this context, the value of the Covenant of Mayors, which has increased cooperation on adaptation at local level, and of the permanent national multilevel climate and energy dialogues, as envisaged in the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action; calls for an enhanced role for adaptation in the European Climate Pact;

18.Highlights the need to assess and make further use of the potential of forests, trees and green infrastructure in flood management and other forms of climate adaptation and in the provision of ecosystem services such as, for example, trees in urban areas, which can absorb rainwater, in addition to providing other benefits, such as improving air quality; calls for more trees to be planted in cities and for support to be given to sustainable forest management; highlights that all flood prevention and other adaptation measures for reforestation and agriculture should be based on the latest scientific knowledge and should be implemented with full respect for ecological principles;

19.Calls on all parties globally to accelerate the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework with adequate financing and to prepare ambitious national biodiversity strategy and action plans;

20.Insists on a complete, ambitious and swift implementation of the Nature Restoration Law, which will help increase resilience to extremes in temperature and precipitation;

21.Stresses the need to step up efforts to restore Europe’s rivers to a healthy, free-flowing state and to secure adequate flood basins that can help counter the disastrous effects of heavy and persistent rainfall; underlines that preventive action is essential and stresses the crucial role that nature-based solutions must play;

22.Calls on the Commission and the Member States to secure sufficient additional funding through the UCPM and rescEU in order to combat the immediate humanitarian effects of the ongoing flooding crisis;

23.Highlights the importance of further developing and making full use of the UCPM in relation to floods and other natural disasters; calls on the Commission to collect and disseminate knowledge among the Member States on how to adapt territories to current and expected climate change, in line with the new EU adaptation strategy;

24.Calls on the Commission and the Member States to accelerate the establishment of the new permanent rescEU fleet and urges them to ensure sufficient funding for this and to expand the existing European seasonal safety net as soon as possible;

25.Underlines the negative influence that natural disasters have on the economic, social and territorial cohesion in the EU, disturbing the implementation of the Union’s regional development / cohesion policy; recalls, in this respect, that over EUR 100 billion of cohesion policy resources will be invested in energy transition, decarbonisation and renewables by 2030;

26.Calls for a significant increase in the EUSF budget, so as to help regions to anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change and broaden the scope of the EUSF so that it is also allowed to support more climate-resilient restoration or the construction of new public and private infrastructure; highlights that the severity of some natural disasters is in some cases the result of factors of human origin, including short-sighted spatial planning that has led to the construction of housing and infrastructure in the flood plains of rivers or in landslide-prone areas; reiterates, in this regard, that EUSF reimbursements should favour a stronger resilience and sustainability, with the financing of ecosystem based solutions;

27.Points out that it is vital for aid and funds to be sent as quickly, easily and flexibly as possible to the affected regions and underlines that synergies between the EUSF, the UCPM, the cohesion funds, notably the ERDF, are essential in order to create a comprehensive response and resilience package;

28.Recalls that the budgetary instruments that the EU has at its disposal in the current multiannual financial framework (MFF) to address rapid and urgent responses to help people in need and repair damage, i.e. the UCPM and the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve (SEAR), are inadequately funded; calls, therefore, for a substantial increase under the next MFF to enable a tangible expression of EU solidarity and support via sufficient long-term funding of emergency services and reconstruction efforts through instruments such as UCPM and SEAR;

29.Calls for the reinforcement, within cohesion policy, of the policy objective on the adaptation to climate change in European regions;

30.Insists on a comprehensive and meaningful gender perspective in all policy areas and in particular in climate and social policies, given that women and people of marginalised genders are impacted hardest by austerity, social exclusion and climate change;

31.Stresses that tackling socio-economic inequality is a precondition for a just adaptation to climate change; demands that the differences in vulnerability of various groups be taken into account and highlights that the current trends in ageing, disease prevalence and economic inequalities necessitate an equity-based, targeted approach to preventing health impacts under the changing climate and increased flooding risk;

32.Stresses that the EU must be ready for flood and other climate-induced displacement and recognises the need for adequate measures to be taken to protect the human rights of populations under threat from the effects of climate change;

33.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.