For the time being, the discussion about costs seems to be conducted only at a regional level, says Brands. But there is a very good chance that in the near future there will be a debate at federal level about how Belgium will arm itself against climate change.
This debate is now also being held in Germany. The country will go to the polls in September to elect a new government. Climate was already a big theme in the election campaign and after the floods this summer it has only become more urgent.
National and not local
All parties have presented plans to better protect the population against these kinds of events in the future. For example, the Greens have developed a 10-point disaster response plan, which states, among other things, that sirens must be returned everywhere and that the approach to these types of disasters must be coordinated nationally and not at local level, explains correspondent Judith van de Hulsbeek.
In Germany, no party outside the AfD denies that natural disasters are related to climate change. It was CSU Minister Seehofer who said: “If you look at the speed with which these kinds of disasters follow, every sane person should understand that this is not a normal phenomenon, but a consequence of man-made climate change.”
Almost all party leaders also say that the recent floods prove how important it is to reduce CO2 emissions, says Van de Hulsbeek. The Greens in particular want to increase the pace. They argue, for example, like Die Linke, to close all coal-fired power stations in 2030 instead of the agreed year 2038.
But are we ready for the flood risks in the future at all? NOS op 3 figured it out:
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