Most climate-related losses stay uninsured
21 Might 2025
2 minute learn
The European Union’s agriculture sector loses a median of 28.3 billion euros ($31.9 billion) every year from excessive climate made worse by local weather change, Reuters reported, citing EU-backed evaluation revealed on Tuesday.
Most of those losses – that are equal to six% of annual EU crop and livestock manufacturing – are usually not insured. Simply 20-30% of farmers’ climate-linked losses have been lined by public, non-public or mutual insurance coverage programs, mentioned the report, backed by the European Fee and European Funding Financial institution, and produced by insurance coverage dealer Howden.
“We have to do one thing to cowl the remaining losses,” EU agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen mentioned. He urged international locations to make use of their EU farming subsidies to deal with local weather dangers.
Europe’s farming trade is each hit onerous by local weather change impacts like drought and excessive rainfall, and itself placing intense strain on the surroundings – by planet-heating methane emissions, air pollution from fertilisers and industrial-scale use of water.
On the identical time, influential agriculture foyer teams have taken intention at Europe’s inexperienced agenda, staging months of protests final 12 months in search of a weakening of environmental insurance policies.
The European Fee introduced plans final week to melt some environmental circumstances on EU farming subsidies, whereas additionally proposing guidelines to hurry up emergency funding for farmers hit by pure disasters.
Farmers’ common crop losses are anticipated to extend by as much as 66% by 2050 with out stronger motion to deal with local weather change, the evaluation mentioned. At present, drought causes greater than half of complete agricultural losses.
With southern Europe hit notably onerous by drought, the evaluation mentioned that by 2050, in a “catastrophic” 12 months, annual losses in Spain and Italy alone may hit 20 billion euros.
The European Funding Financial institution, the EU’s lending arm, mentioned the evaluation would information its efforts to help farmers, which embody financing investments like irrigation, and offering loans and ensures.
The EIB additionally plans to extend its spending on water tasks – a transfer that might profit farmers – in line with a leaked draft of a European Fee water technique, reported by Reuters final week.
An EIB spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon this funding.
($1 = 0.8877 euros)
