Forest fires had a total cost of 77 billion euros in Europe in 2023, the hottest year on record, with a weight of 377.2 million in Portugal, according to World Bank data.
In a series of reports on “economics for disaster prevention and preparedness in the Member States and countries of the European Union”, published this Wednesday, the World Bank (in a project carried out in collaboration and financed by the European Commission) indicates that “2023 was the hottest year ever recorded, with disasters across Europe costing more than €77 billion.”
In Portugal alone, the cost of the 2023 forest fires amounted to 377.2 million euros, in a burned area of 36,498 hectares, according to the calculations of this international financial institution included in the documents.
Even so, last year in the country, the number of hectares of land burned compared to the annual average of forest fires since 2006 was 62% lower, making Portugal the seventh country in the European Union (EU) with the least damage caused. by fires (behind Sweden, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Slovenia).
In a statement, the World Bank highlights that “Europe is warming faster than any other continent and is very vulnerable to the growing risks associated with climate change,” having recorded, in recent decades, “overwhelming – and increasing – losses and destruction due. to climate-related disasters.
For this reason, the EU needs, in the opinion of the international financial institution, “smart investments to strengthen disaster resilience, adaptation and financing the response to climate and disaster risks.”
Until because “The projected costs of inaction in a high warming scenario could reach 7% of GDP. [Produto Interno Bruto] of the EU“warns the World Bank.
Specifically in the EU, The costs of adaptation to climate change between now and 2030 could range between 15,000 and 64,000 million euros per yearand the necessary scale of adaptation financing is expected to be between 0.1% and 0.4% of EU GDP, according to the organisation.
Data for Portugal on this topic are not available in the reports.
In papers on the economics of disaster prevention and preparedness, the World Bank concludes that while European countries are taking important steps to increase resilience, more needs to be done, such as investing in priority sectors to maximize social benefits, and perform analysis on the situation. future costs of adapting to climate change and advancing efficient management of public finances, “affected by multiple catastrophes each year.”
Source: Observadora
