Vigenin: The new European summer is already here, and we must adapt to the heat

“Climate change is no longer an abstract risk for the future. It is a reality we feel every summer in our cities, in agriculture, in forests, in hospitals and in people’s daily lives. The fight against climate change remains necessary, but adapting to it is now an urgent task.” This was stated by Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament during the discussion “Resilience in the new European summer: protecting agriculture, forests and cities for a competitive Europe”.

The forum in the European Parliament

He hosted the forum together with the leading European climate innovation organisation Climate KIC and French MEP Grégory Allione (Renew Europe group). The discussion brought together representatives of the European Commission, the scientific community and experts who work every day on tackling the consequences of climate change.

Extreme weather events

Vigenin stressed that Europe increasingly faces extreme heat, drought, fires, lost harvests and growing pressure on water supply, health systems, energy and local authorities. “We need to see climate resilience as part of public infrastructure. Today this means not only roads, bridges and power grids, but also more shade in cities, access to drinking water in public spaces, green corridors, resilient schools and hospitals, better insulation, passive cooling, more trees, permeable paving and an urban environment that protects people during heatwaves,” he recommended.

The MEP pointed out that Europe must move from reaction to prevention: “We cannot react only once a crisis has already hit. We need early warnings, better health protocols during heatwaves and support for firefighters and civil protection services, but also long-term investment in cities, agriculture and forests that can withstand the new climate reality .“

Adaptation as a necessity

Vigenin emphasised that adaptation is not an alternative to climate policies but a necessary complement to them. “The less successful we are at cutting emissions, the harder and more expensive adaptation will be. Europe must do both at the same time : fight the causes of climate change and protect people from the consequences that are already here,” he said.

In conclusion, the MEP said that “the new European summer is already a fact”, and the question for the European institutions and the Member States is whether they will be caught off guard every year by heatwaves, fires, droughts and lost harvests, or will start preparing in time.