The European Union will push its member countries to invest more in environmental management to reduce wildfire risk, the bloc's environment commissioner told Reuters on Thursday, as experts said the economic cost of this summer's blazes had already exceeded €15 billion.
Extreme wildfires have ripped through France, Spain and Greece this summer, causing €15.6 billion to €19.1 billion in economic costs - including damage to property, infrastructure, firefighting costs, debris removal and anticipated insurance claims - according to estimates published by forecaster AccuWeather on Thursday.
Scientists have confirmed human-caused global warming made the extreme weather fuelling these fires more likely.
But the speed and severity with which the blazes spread have also raised questions about whether countries are investing enough in environmental management, such as by clearing forests of dry, flammable vegetation, and restoring wetlands that can act as natural firebreaks.
"Prevention is the first line of defence... it is obvious that we need to invest more in nature," EU environment commissioner Jessika Roswall said in an interview.
