Europe is grappling with substantial losses and destruction resulting from climate-related disasters. From 1980 to 2022, weather and climate-related events across the EU resulted in total losses of approximately €650 billion, or around €15.5 billion per year. Recent catastrophes, such as the floods in 2022 and wildfires in 2023, have underscored the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure, including emergency response buildings like fire stations, as well as roads and power lines.
To guide priority investments in disaster and climate resilience and bolster financial resilience, a report series titled 'Economics for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness' has been developed by the World Bank and the European Commission. This series provides evidence and tools to assist countries in adopting a more strategic approach to enhance their climate resilience. These strategies are also being promoted and operationalized through the ongoing Technical Assistance Financing Facility for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness (TAFF), funded by the European Commission, and implemented by the World Bank along with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
The report underscores that half of EU Member States have fire stations located in areas with high levels of multiple hazards including wildfires, landslides, floods, or earthquakes. It argues that investing in disaster resilience is economically sensible, emphasizing an urgency to scale up investments in disaster and climate resilience strategically.
Another focus of the report is on understanding the costs for a country to adapt to climate change impacts. The estimated cost of climate adaptation varies significantly; however, based on extrapolation from national studies, it is predicted that these costs could range between €15 billion to €64 billion up until the 2030s within the EU.
Finally, it points out that natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, landslides storms, wildfires droughts, extreme heat risks exert additional pressure on already strained response and recovery budgets. The potential funding gap due to major earthquakes and floods could vary between €13 billion to €50 billion. The report concludes that European countries need to enhance their financial resilience through better data utilization and innovative financial instruments, including risk transfer to the private sector.