Declaring climate change a global health emergency could be one way forward, says WHO official
EU officials commemorated on Wednesday the victims of last month’s record-breaking heatwave, as the bloc prepares to unveil a new plan to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
The past few months have seen around 10,000 excess deaths as back-to-back heatwaves have swept across swathes of Western Europe. There were around 5,000 excess deaths in Germany alone, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
Brussels has turned the growing toll of climate change – from floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires – into an annual day of remembrance, marked by a minute of silence and speeches from senior officials.
“Climate change is a killer, and we know it,” said EU climate chief Teresa Ribera in a video statement, explaining that even the wealthiest continent in the world is “not prepared” for its risks.
