European Parliament bickers as Europe burns

There were angry exchanges in European Parliament on Wednesday as lawmakers debated how to prepare for increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves and forest fires – just weeks after the continent experience its hottest June days on record.

Many recalled last year’s similarly record-breaking wildfire season, which saw over a million hectares of woodland and scrub turned to ashes. Yet the debate soon settled into a familiar exchange, with some political groups espousing positions that remain rigid despite the worsening situation.

“Climate change is accelerating, but our response remains too slow,” French liberal Gregory Allione, a former firefighter, said on Wednesday. “Nor can we choose between mitigation and adaptation.”

But that is precisely what some on the far-right were demanding, however.

“Current EU climate policy is not able to protect EU citizens from heatwaves because it is primarily designed to reduce EU-based emissions faster than our EU global competitors,” Czech Patriots for Europe group member Ondřej Knotek said.

The Science

Is climate change increasing wildfire? The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) answered that question back in 2022 in its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6): “Human-caused climate change increases wildfire by intensifying its principal driving factor, heat.”

Then there’s the feedback loop.

“Forest fires are no longer merely a consequence of climate change: they are becoming a driving force behind it, because when a forest burns, it releases carbon and, moreover, can no longer absorb it,” Allione said.

Several Renew and S&D lawmakers reminded the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations groups that their systematic attacks on the flagship texts of the European Green Deal only make the situation worse.

“I would like to say to the far-right members of this house that they bear a very heavy share of the responsibility for the current situation,” said French lawmaker Pascal Canfin (Renew).

“You have voted against every single piece of legislation – every single one! – that enables us to mitigate the worst effects of climate change,” the former environment committee chair reminded them.

Besides demanding a halt to climate mitigation policy, PfE lawmakers called for a “climate plan” built around a roll-out of air conditioners.

“I put the question to Jordan Bardella’s group: are you going to install airco in farmers’ fields to prevent wildfires?” quipped the French socialist Chloé Ridel.

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