Civil Protection warns of an autumn with extreme rains and asks to self-protect

BarcelonaThe effects of climate change are making extreme weather events more frequent and intense. In Catalonia, this autumn will be marked by extreme rainfall fueled by this summer's temperatures, which have left a thermal anomaly of four degrees above average in the sea water temperature. For this reason, the Civil Protection of the Generalitat has issued a warning about the risks that sudden and intense downpours can entail. The administration has called for caution and is also considering using ES-Alert messages when there are episodes of unforeseen torrential rain to warn of potential damage.

The deputy director of Civil Protection, Imma Solé, specified this Friday that these warnings will not be systematic, but rather that the convenience of using them will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Aspects such as how many calls to the 112 emergency number the rain episode produces, whether emergency teams have to attend to different incidents at the same time, and the level of water accumulated in the street will be taken into account.

According to the Department of Interior, floods are the emergency that causes the most economic losses and leads to the most deaths in Catalonia, above forest fires and other serious emergencies. The unpredictability of these torrential rains is one of the effects of the climate crisis and is the focus of the awareness campaign on flood risk that the Generalitat is launching with the slogan "Everything can change in an instant". The Minister of Interior, Núria Parlon, has presented the campaign, which warns of how, in a matter of minutes, an everyday situation can turn into an emergency due to sudden and difficult-to-predict torrential rains.

The State proposes a European response

Also to get ahead of the consequences of the climate crisis, the Spanish government has proposed to the European Union to create a permanent climate emergency response system that reinforces rescEU, the reserve mechanism for emergencies and catastrophes. The measure is part of a proposal that suggests a "comprehensive approach to anticipate and assess climate risks," also taking into account planning, investments, and financial measures.

The Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, has sent the executive's proposal to strengthen the European response to climate risks to the European Commissioner for Climate, Wopke Hoekstra. Spain also proposes taxing the profits of oil and gas companies to dedicate the proceeds to financing climate change adaptation measures following the drought and severe forest fires plaguing the continent. Among other destinations, this new tax would fund a new specific European fund for climate change adaptation.

In this sense, the ministry proposes that the EU incorporate "common financial instruments to strengthen climate resilience." Specifically, it advocates for creating a European public-private reinsurance system that helps cover losses derived from extreme weather phenomena or other consequences of the climate crisis, and suggests addressing it with the issuance of climate risk bonds.

Assess climate risks

The executive also considers that the EU must establish "the obligation for all public planning and decision-making processes to systematically evaluate and integrate climate risks." In fact, the ministry's proposal adds that the "European resilience framework" it proposes needs "a solid and rigorous legislative component," which sets binding short, medium, and long-term objectives based on scientific evidence and prioritizes the most exposed sectors, such as water, health, infrastructure, forests, biodiversity, tourism, agriculture, and fishing.

Sources from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge assess that Europe "needs a common knowledge of climate risks based on science," and therefore point out that it is "essential to promote five-year climate risk assessments at the European, national, and regional levels."