View of a virtually empty swamp that supplied water to the village of Fuente obejuna in Cordoba, Spain, May 19, 2023.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty’s paintings
European lawmakers have issued a stark warning in regards to the growing water crisis within the region ahead of another extreme summer, saying there is an urgent need to handle issues resembling scarcity, food security and pollution.
Speaking at a plenary session of the European Parliament on Thursday entitled “The Water Crisis in Europe”, lawmakers called for more motion to guard and improve water resources, which have been depleting groundwater for several years because the climate crisis intensifies.
Record temperatures for spring and a historic winter heatwave took its toll on the region’s rivers and ski slopes as water shortage protests broke out in each regions France AND Spain.
“The Copernicus satellite imagery is sad confirmation that many parts of the Union are facing serious difficulties,” said EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson in her opening speech.
“Some regions suffer from water scarcity resulting from droughts, while others suffer from floods. Most suffer from water pollution, but none of this is recent.”
Simson said the EU had already implemented robust laws to guard water systems for the reason that Seventies, but acknowledged that the laws and the way it was implemented could only achieve a lot.
“We have reached some extent where we want to take a special approach,” she added. “Let’s not be a continent that learns the worth of water when the well runs dry.”
A farmer shows a pot of water as he speaks right into a microphone about drought during a farmers’ demonstration to attract attention to the living conditions within the countryside and highlight the importance of agriculture in society and its contribution to the country’s economy, in Madrid, May 13, 2023.
Oscar Del Pozo | AFP | Getty’s paintings
The plenary session took place in Strasbourg, France, just after the European Environment Agency warned that the region is facing a summer with more frequent and extreme droughts, floods, heatwaves, fires and a rise in climatic diseases.
The EU environment agency described the general outlook as “pessimistic” in a report published on Wednesday.
It added that while 27 EU countries and members of the European Economic Area have put in place national adaptation policies, all of them could do rather more to limit the negative effects of extreme weather this summer.
A few of the suggested measures included cities increasing the variety of trees and bodies of water – which may lower temperatures and reduce the danger of flooding – and farmers adapting crop varieties and changing sowing dates.
Summer after summer, Europe suffers from water scarcity – and it appears to be getting worse.
Juan Ignacio Zoido Alvarez
Member of the European Parliament
“We see the implications of the climate crisis, and we see it more clearly than ever. Europe is affected by droughts, rivers are drying up, agriculture is under pressure, nature is suffering, Danish lawyer Christel Schaldemose said on Thursday. , in line with the interpretation.
“This is war. The water war,” said Schaldemose.
“We must do every little thing in our power to stop the results of climate change and really tackle it. However it’s also crucial for us to know the right way to manage our drinking water.”
“This summer could possibly be the worst of all”
Sophie Trémolet, European director of freshwater at The Nature Conservancy, a non-profit environmental organization, told CNBC that the upcoming summer could surpass temperature records set last 12 months, with the likely prospect of “greater antagonism” over water scarcity .
Nevertheless, it is not only a matter of getting enough resources. Trémolet said water pollution and costs are also a serious concern.
“Scarcity is one thing, but quality is also very essential,” Trémolet said. “Water pollution drives up costs.”
An aerial view shows a flooded pig farm and surrounding fields within the village of Lugo on May 18, 2023, after heavy rains caused flooding in northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region.
Andreas Solaro | AFP | Getty’s paintings
Satellite data analyzed by scientists from the University of Graz in Austria earlier this 12 months showed that drought is affecting Europe on a much larger scale than scientists had previously expected.
The study was published after EU researchers discovered that Europe had experienced this the most popular summer of last 12 monthsand the extraordinary drought was said to be the worst the region had seen in not less than 500 years.
“Summer after summer, Europe suffers from water scarcity – and it appears to be getting worse. This summer could possibly be the worst of all,” said Juan Ignacio Zoido Alvarez, member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
Alvarez, who was previously Spain’s interior minister, said Spain’s water resources are actually at lower than 50% of their capability.
“The mix of lack of rain and extreme temperatures threatens our food security and the economic survival of thousands and thousands of farmers,” Alvarez said, in line with the interpretation. He called for regional financial support measures to assist those affected.
Salvatore De Meo, another MEP who sits on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, said agriculture was one in every of the sectors prone to suffer essentially the most from water scarcity, making food production harder.
“Our food security is determined by how we manage our water resources,” De Meo said, in line with the interpretation.