Weak climate deal at stunned Gleneagles

American President George Bush received strong backing on the opening day of the Gleneagles conference from a UK House of Lords report on the economic costs of tackling climate change (see EurActiv 6 July 2005).

On the other hand, the  University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit published a report this week predicting extreme changing weather patterns across Europe over the next eighty years. The findings of the MICE (Modelling the impact of climate extremes) report indicate that:

•  Heatwaves will become hotter and last longer over much of Europe;
•  Cold days with temperatures below freezing will decrease by up to four months in Northern Europe by 2070;
•  Southern Europe and the Mediterranean will experience drier prolonged droughts and reduced rainfall;
•  There will be an increase in winter rain over most of Europe leading to greater flood risk and water pollution;
•  The number of severe winter storms over western Europe will increase.

These changing weather patterns will have severe negative impacts for different economic sectors such as winter sports in the Alps or agriculture and forests in Southern Europe.

Ten days ago, a report by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) also predicted a two-thirds increase in the costs of climate change effects by 2080 (see EurActiv 30 June 2005).