The Guardian: climate crisis barely features in Europe’s election debates
European politicians are largely avoiding a broad conversation about cutting emissions and long-term climate policy, despite four heatwaves, record temperatures, fires and thousands of excess deaths this summer. This is stated in an analytical article by The Guardian World.
The publication writes that Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world — warming twice as fast as other regions. Simon Stiell, head of the UN climate department, described the consequences of global warming as reaching the level of a state emergency for countries.
Voter concerns
According to an Ipsos poll conducted in mid-July, environmental protection became the fourth most important issue for voters in France. Compared with June, this figure rose by 12 points. A Le Monde editorial cited by The Guardian said that some politicians had remained silent, while others had made insufficient statements and resorted to demagoguery, warning that politicians on the right and left are losing trust.
Labour Party activists in the United Kingdom are concerned, according to the publication, about the government’s lack of a major climate policy initiative. Friedrich Merz said this week that there is a need to curb climate change and adapt to its consequences, while noting that this should not come at the expense of German industry.
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Adaptation instead of emissions cuts
French climatologist Jean Jouzel links politicians’ position to the short-term horizon of their decisions. According to him, the political class has not yet fully realized the reality of global warming and must confront it directly.
As The Guardian notes, political polarization, concerns about the cost of living, high energy bills, food inflation and wage stagnation have shifted the discussion from long-term emissions cuts to local adaptation. One subject of dispute has been air conditioning: right-wing politicians present it as a symbol of comfort and personal freedom, while left-wing politicians criticize it because of its environmental consequences and the lack of long-term planning.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whom the publication describes as an exception, stressed that climate change kills and that the response must include not only dealing with the consequences but also reducing the causes. Over the next 18 months, national elections are due to take place, including in France, Italy and Spain, but the climate emergency, in the publication’s assessment, remains largely absent from political debates.
