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Europe on a climate roller coaster
Hello and welcome to the Euranet Plus Panorama! I'm Hermine Donceel. In this episode: 2024 is the warmest year ever, says Copernicus. And we look at our network's latest fact-checking with my colleague Nina Lamparski.
This week, despite the usual media noise from the White House and the Easter holidays across Europe, the release of the Copernicus 2024 report on Tuesday 15 April did not go unnoticed by the radio stations in our network.
2024 is a record year for the European climate says one of Europe’s main research programme: the hottest year ever recorded on the continent - and worldwide - and a turning point in the acceleration of the process:2024 was indeed the first year to exceed +1.5°C of warming compared to the pre-industrial era. The thermometer broke records in almost half of the continent, with southern and south-eastern countries the hardest hit.
The report, published by the European Copernicus Programme in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), also confirms that the European continent is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. +2.4°C over the last five years, compared to a global average of 1.3°C.
Francisco Ferreira, president of the Portugal’s leading climate association "Zero", admits to our colleagues at Radio Renascença that he was surprised by these findings.
Francisco Ferreira, President of Associação Zero – (in Portuguese)
“The report shows that the climate is on a real rollercoaster ride. We have to adapt to a climate that is getting further and further away from normal. 2024 was the record with a pattern that is not what we would perhaps expect.”
Last year was also one of the ten wettest years ever for Western Europe, with several countries experiencing 30 to 40 extra days of rain, while some areas in the east of the continent had up to 50 fewer days of rain.
Giulio Betti, climatologist at Italy's National Research Council, tells Radio 24 why Europe is warming faster than the rest of the planet.
Giulio Betti, climatologist and meteorologist at the Italian National Research Council (CNR) (in Italian)
“Europe is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. This is a well-known fact, an obvious fact, precisely because of its particular geographical location, which makes it particularly exposed, especially to heat flows, which clearly warm the tropics, subtropics and oceans. Europe is in a kind of perfect climate storm, as temperatures are inevitably rising twice as fast as in the United States, for example.”
The European Green Deal, the EU's climate change strategy, is under renewed criticism in recent months for its alleged negative impact on Europe's competitiveness. The report reminds us that the consequences of this transition will come at a significant cost to our economy.
Globally, climate events are expected to cause €18.2 billion in damages by 2024. More than 400,000 people will be affected.
Andrew Ferrone, a senior official at Luxembourg's Ministry of the Environment, warns in an interview with Luxembourg's 100,7 radio station that we will increasingly feel the effects of climate change calling for more action on nature restoration.
Andrew Ferrone, Senior official at the Luxembourg Ministry of the Environment (in Luxembourgish)
“Temperatures will rise. Heat waves will be longer and more intense. This means that heat stress will increase, so it is important that everyone has access to water, for example during heat waves. But green spaces are also very important, for example green spaces in cities, as well as open spaces, i.e. areas with water. They cool the air, purify it and pull the CO2 out of the atmosphere. […] But we also have to prepare for the fact that there will be more and more intense rainfall in Luxembourg; this means that we also need to prepare for more flooding. Nature restoration, for example, can play a very important role in this regard.
Brussels is expected to put forward a plan to align Europe’s 2040 climate efforts later this Spring in what is expected to become one the most controversial issues of the new European Commission.
Let me now welcome Nina Lamparski, from the Euranet Plus fact-checking team.
Hey Nina!
Hello! Thank you for having me.
Together with the radio stations in our network, she's been checking out allegations that the US paid more than the EU to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia. So, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that his country spends far more money in Ukraine than Europe. According to Trump, the US has paid up to 350 billion dollars since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He didn’t specify whether this was just for defence spending or also included other types of aid, such as loans or humanitarian support. Now, we’ve investigated Trump’s claims and found that the numbers are way off. New data shows that European member states have invested a total of 138 billion euros into Ukraine, compared to 115 billion euros from the US. So in short, the EU as a whole has spent 23 billion more in combined financial, military and humanitarian aid. These latest figures come from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy – a think tank based in Germany which tracks foreign spending in Ukraine. Importantly, the data reveals that the US is barely still leading the way when it comes to military aid – traditionally its stronghold. America’s defence budget is 65 billion euros, while the EU has spent 64 billion. So hardly a billion euros’ difference. The gap is also fairly narrow for financial aid to Ukraine. While the US has provided 47 billion euros, the EU gave nearly 50 billion euros in grants and loans. Regarding humanitarian aid, we’re looking at 3.5 billion euros for the US and just under 3 billion for the EU. But I guess what’s clear is that US support for Ukraine has dried up since Trump took office earlier this year… The last US aid package came in January, under then president Joe Biden – around 500 million euros in military equipment. Since then, nothing.
Experts say this puts more pressure on Europe to step up.
Just last month, EU leaders backed a major push to boost European defence spending by 800 billion euros. A key question is – could Europe replace the US in Ukraine if Washington pulls back entirely? The Kiel Institute says – yes, certainly when it comes to financial aid and if big EU powers step up. Most of the shortfall could be covered if nations like France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK increased their spending even just a little bit. Although Germany remains the biggest single financial donor, it still only invests a tiny percentage of its GDP in Ukraine – Unlike smaller nations like Estonia and Denmark which are pulling more than their weight in contributions relative to their economic size. The military aid aspect is trickier. Replacing American weapons and especially military intelligence would be tough. But experts say Europe could still make a meaningful dent.
In short, the EU is now Ukraine’s biggest backer—and Trump’s claims don’t match the facts.