Recent European heatwave caused 2,300 deaths, scientists estimate

FRANCE 24 English

Around 2,300 people died of heat-related causes across 12 European cities during the severe heatwave that ended last week, according to a rapid scientific analysis published on Wednesday. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to Ian Duff, Head of Greenpeace International's Stop Drilling Start Paying campaign, which is advocating – along with the Polluters Pay Pact – for oil, coal and gas corporations to pay their fair share for the damages they cause.  Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

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00:00This is Apropos. Human-caused climate change made the recent European heat wave up to four

00:09degrees hotter in many cities, resulting in a tripling of the overall death toll. That's

00:14according to a study by over a dozen researchers from five European institutions. The research

00:20comes as the EU's climate monitor Copernicus said last month was the hottest June on record

00:26in Western Europe. With the details, here's Siobhan Silk. A few degrees can be the difference

00:33between life and death. That's the warning from the authors of a pan-European study that found the

00:39recent European heat wave killed almost two and a half thousand people in 12 cities. And the

00:46researchers say most of them would still be alive if climate change had not pushed temperatures to

00:51dangerous highs. One thousand five hundred have only died because of climate change,

00:59so they would not have died if it would not have been for our burning of oil, coal and gas in the

01:05last century. Parts of the continent passed a sweltering 40 degrees Celsius last month. A

01:12separate report by the European climate watchdog Copernicus finds it was the hottest June on record

01:18in Western Europe. The report notes human-caused climate change made the heat wave up to four

01:24degrees hotter in cities, which have lower tree cover and paved surfaces that store and release heat.

01:31The extreme temperatures were not limited to land. We also saw a marine heat wave

01:36in this western part of the Mediterranean basin and those kinds of also reinforced, especially things like

01:44nighttime temperatures, then not being able to cool down and so which led to a lot of what we call

01:49the tropical nights. Those tropical conditions meant no respite from hot temperatures overnight,

01:55one of the main factors in heat deaths. As global warming continues unabated,

02:01Copernicus warns heat waves will become more frequent and intense and will hit more people across Europe.

02:09It's ten years since the Paris Climate Accords were signed with the goal of limiting long-term

02:15global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Scientists say drastic action is required to

02:24keep that threshold in sight. To discuss, we're joined now by Ian Duff,

02:29head of Greenpeace International's Stop Drilling Start Paying campaign. Ian, thanks so much for being with

02:35us this evening. Previous studies have evaluated the role played by climate change in flooding or drought.

02:42This study was a little bit different. It went further in directly linking coal, oil and natural gas

02:49use to the deaths of people during this most recent heat wave. What exactly did it conclude and how did it

02:56come to those conclusions? Yes, well thank you very much for having me on this evening. And sadly we've

03:03known that heat waves are a silent killer but this scientific research now shows that climate change

03:09from burning oil, gas and coal has made these heat waves three times more deadly. And behind these

03:17numbers are real people. People from London, Paris, Milan, Barcelona. It's our parents, our grandparents

03:24who are hit hardest and many of us are coming to heat in their homes. And frankly, it's really shocking.

03:30And it's not just in Europe, of course. We're seeing extreme weather driven by the emissions from

03:37oil and gas companies making these crises even worse. So, yeah, it's really time that we kind of

03:44use these pieces of research as a wake-up call. And cities like Paris, Milan and Barcelona, Ian, were the

03:51worst affected in this heat wave. What do authorities in places like the French capital, in big urban

03:57centres, need to actually do to lower the risks then associated with these extreme heat events?

04:04Yes, well, as we just heard, one of the most obvious solutions is transitioning away much faster

04:11from oil, gas and coal. That's the only way we can stop heat waves from becoming even worse. But we also

04:18need to invest much more in adapting to a warmer world, making our homes, schools and hospitals safe

04:24again. And those solutions exist. They're out there, but they all cost money. And that's really

04:31the big question that politicians and governments are trying to tackle at the moment, especially when

04:37public budgets are strained. So, who pays for all this? That's the big question. And what we say is,

04:43why not the big oil and gas polluters that have literally made trillions out of fueling this

04:49climate crisis? We think it's only fair that they pick up some of the tag.

04:55And when you say that polluters must pay, who exactly are you referring to,

04:59and what do you want them to do specifically?

05:03Yeah, we're talking about the biggest polluters, the oil, gas and coal companies, who

05:09over the last century or more, have been responsible for a large amount of the emissions

05:15that are now in our atmosphere. And we're calling on governments to take action to start to tax

05:24these oil and gas companies, a new tax that would raise money to pay for the climate damages that they

05:30are, after all, responsible for. And we think that's the fairest solution. And that's why Greenpeace,

05:37along with many other organisations, has just joined a new initiative called the Polluters Pay

05:41Pact, which seeks to pressure governments around the world to make oil and gas companies pay their

05:48fair share. And how would such a system work in practice, Ian? And would, you know, laws are

05:53obviously different depending on which country these new rules would be implemented if they were to be

05:58taken on board by governments? Yeah, that's right. There's actually a number of initiatives

06:04out there at the moment that are promising, discussions happening at the global level

06:12to look at a global tax on oil and gas companies. But it can also happen at the national level.

06:18We've seen progress on that in some parts of the world as well. But really, we do need a global

06:24solution. Otherwise, what we'll find is that these companies will just move territories. So really key,

06:31if we want to deal with a global problem like the cost of climate change, we need a global solution.

06:37And taxing oil and gas companies at the global level is a great way of doing that.

06:42How would you get around, though, the inevitable pushback from those big oil and gas firms?

06:48Yeah, I mean, that's a really, really good question. I think it's worth saying that

06:53these measures are not only necessary, they're also popular. So a recent global study found that

06:59eight out of 10 people support taxing fossil fuel companies to pay for the impacts from their

07:05emissions. So the consensus is there, but governments don't feel it. And that's because

07:10they feel the pressure from the oil and gas lobby, just like you've said. So that's why we're saying,

07:16you know, it's important that we now come together, groups, concerned citizens, people who face climate

07:23change day in, day out to come together and to say to governments, look, you've got the backing of

07:29people. Now let's take the action to make these polluters pay their fair share in order to make

07:35our communities and homes safe again. And you refer to lobbying there. The industry is,

07:39of course, accused of funding climate science denial of blocking energy reform. So how do you guard

07:45against that, particularly now when we have such policies coming from the Trump administration in

07:51the US? Yes, I mean, it's absolutely a huge problem. I think what we're seeing, actually, if we want to

08:01look at momentum, is the many court cases actually in the US, which are attempting to sue oil and gas

08:12companies for climate damages. And they're really leaning into and using evidence from the fact that

08:18oil and gas companies lied and were dishonest about climate change, that they've known about this

08:25for decades, yet they've taken action to thwart progress. And that makes now acting on climate

08:32change even more urgent because of the denial and delay that they led. So actually, I think we're

08:38starting to see that the chickens coming home to roost there. And, you know, we could see some positive

08:48legal results from the US. And, Ian, instead of being forced to pay fines and taxes, some might say

08:54it might be better to incentivise these big firms to invest in clean energy. Yes, they have said that over the

09:04last 10 years. But what we've seen actually over the last two or three years is a huge U-turn from

09:10these companies. They pitched themselves as the solution, as the answer to the transition. And in

09:16the last few years, they've really doubled down on oil and gas. So we really can't trust them to take a

09:23lead on this transition. That is why governments must step in, that they must find a way to recover

09:30the huge amount of money that these companies have made and put that back into the measures needed

09:37to help us recover from climate change. Because that's what is needed to make our homes, our

09:42communities and our lives safe again. And collaboration is also needed as well,

09:47isn't it, between various different governments, between industry leaders? There's more lobbying taking

09:53place in some of the Middle Eastern states, for example, when compared to what might be happening here

09:58at a European level. Yes, absolutely. I mean, international collaboration on this is important.

10:08And there are, you know, processes and measures happening there. And that's why we're calling on

10:15governments to kind of come together and look at how they could introduce these new mechanism to recover

10:23money from the polluters that have driven the climate crisis. It cannot be beyond the realms of

10:31their ability to be able to say, how do we take back some of this money, this huge amount of money?

10:38They've made 2.8 billion a day over the past 50 years. Why not take that back and use that to pay

10:46for the climate damages that we're all feeling right now?

10:48Ian, thanks for being with us on the programme this evening. We do appreciate your time. That is

10:53Ian Dove, Head of Greenpeace International's Stop Drilling, Start Paying campaign.

10:58Well, that is it from us for now. Stay with us, though, for more World News.

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