In light of the flooding in several European countries, politicians, climate experts and environmentalists are calling for more action to be taken against climate change. Green Party leader Dröge wrote that this is “to protect humanity.”
Green politicians, scientists and environmental initiatives have called for joint efforts to combat climate change following flood disasters in several countries in Central and Southeastern Europe. “The climate crisis affects us all,” Katharina Dröge, leader of the Greens’ parliamentary group, wrote on the Internet service X. “It makes floods more likely. And we can only fight it together.”
“If floods that happen once in a century happen several times a year, that’s not normal,” wrote Green Party leader Ricarda Lang. “This is the consequence of the climate crisis.” Climate protection is therefore “nothing but protecting humanity” so that “these disasters don’t become more frequent and destructive.”
More general Climate change Be afraid
Climate researcher Stefan Rahmstorf also points to a link between human-caused global warming and the increased risk of more frequent and severe weather events in X. “This is scientifically proven and there is consensus,” he said, citing right-wing populist rhetoric that questions the findings.
“We ask ourselves how many more climate disasters must occur before the federal government gets serious about climate protection,” he wrote for the climate network Fridays for Future Germany. “We think about the people affected and the emergency services in the flood zones,” he continued.
Christoph Bautz, executive director of the Campact network, expressed fears that warming will lead to more severe climate extremes in the future. “Only a very consistent climate policy can prevent this,” he warned, also for X.
“The greatest problem of our time”
“Climate change is by far the biggest problem of our time,” legal philosopher Christoph Möllers told the Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten. “The greatest collective effort is needed to solve the enormous problem before us,” he stressed, especially since many of our current actions could potentially harm the climate.
Dramatic flooding was reported on Sunday, particularly in the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland and Romania. At least seven people have died as a result of the floods as of Sunday. Four people are still missing in the Czech Republic. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes. Hundreds of thousands have lost power, and roads and train lines have had to be closed.
In Germany, however, the situation is relatively relaxed.