Europe's environment and climate: knowledge for resilience, prosperity and sustainability

This report provides an integrated narrative, examining the central and vital role that the climate and natural environment play in ensuring health, resilience and prosperity for people, anchored in the EU’s vision for a sustainable Europe by 2050. The report covers the direct economic costs of impacts from weather- and climate-related extremes on European society and industry. It also emphasises that the EU and its Member States must take urgent action to prevent large economic losses because of the increase in global warming.

At the EU level, the European Climate Law binds Member States to adopt and implement national adaptation strategies and plans; it also requires them to report on national adaptation actions through the Governance Regulation on the Energy Union and Climate Action. Key messages of this publication, include:

• From 1980 to 2023, weather- and climate-related events caused over EUR 738 billion in losses in the EU. Over EUR 162 billion are from the last 3 years, placing them all in the top of 5 years with the highest annual economic losses.
• Climate change is projected to significantly increase economic costs across Europe, driven by more frequent and intense extremes and slow-onset impacts — with some regions facing particularly high risks due to cascading and compounding effects.
• Despite EU-level progress on adaptation, Member States urgently need to address the economic damage and losses caused by climate-related events, as these actions are vital for guiding public policy and driving investment in adaptation strategies.