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Climate breakdown: Is the EU adapting to the new normal? Europe's summer of disasters
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Climate breakdown: Is the EU adapting to the new normal? Europe's summer of disasters Issued on: Modified: It has been called Europe's disaster year. 2026 has seen more than 30,000 excess deaths linked to heatwaves, along with mega wildfires, nuclear power plants having to shut down, gas plants under pressure, droughts reducing hydropower generation from rivers and wild fluctuations in electricity prices, not to mention major disruptions to crops and farming in general.
Climate breakdown: Is the EU adapting to the new normal? Europe's summer of disasters
Issued on: Modified:
It has been called Europe's disaster year. 2026 has seen more than 30,000 excess deaths linked to heatwaves, along with mega wildfires, nuclear power plants having to shut down, gas plants under pressure, droughts reducing hydropower generation from rivers and wild fluctuations in electricity prices, not to mention major disruptions to crops and farming in general.
So is the EU adapting effectively to the new normal of climate breakdown? And are the plans announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on a "heatwave plan" and related measures credible? We put the question to two MEPs.
Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero and Agnès Le Cossec
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EUROPEAN