• ‘Europe’s biggest climate challenge now is credibility’ and it must ‘step up with real commitments,’ says Chiara Martinelli, director of Climate Action Network Europe
• ‘This COP cannot become one pitting Global South and Global North countries against each other,’ warns Martinelli

GENEVA

Europe heads into COP30 under growing pressure: battered by record heat waves, devastating floods and soaring economic losses, its capacity to lead global climate action is being called into question.

Aiming to promote ambitious climate diplomacy in Brazil, Europe finds itself in a position where its own backyard paints a stark picture of climate risk.

“In recent years Europe has faced a surge in extreme weather … Economic losses have steadily climbed into the tens of billions of euros,” the European Environment Agency said in an October report, noting that weather- and climate-related disasters have caused losses of some €822 billion (over $950 billion) since 1980, with over €208 billion ($240 billion) of that occurring between 2021 and 2024.

Against that backdrop, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe director Chiara Martinelli says the key issue for Europe – both at COP30 and beyond – is credibility.

“Europe’s biggest climate challenge now is credibility,” she told Anadolu. “The (European) Commission president said this COP must be the one that keeps the 1.5C goal within reach and delivers for the countries most vulnerable. Yet the EU arrives in Belem with an NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) that falls short of the ambition needed for that.”

Europe has faced extreme weather ranging from record-breaking heat – some heat waves stretched for nearly two weeks – to prolonged rainfall that has repeatedly swollen rivers, inundated towns, and triggered landslides. Across the continent, storms, floods and heat waves have claimed hundreds of lives and affected hundreds of thousands of people.

In 2024, Europe recorded its warmest year on record, with storms and floods affecting nearly half a million people and claiming at least 335 lives, according to the World Meteorological Organization and Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Between 1980 and 2024, hydrological hazards such as floods accounted for 47% of economic losses, storms 27%, and heat waves 18%, the European Environment Agency reported.

Economic losses have surged into the tens of billions of euros, with individual years seeing more than €18 billion (over $20 billion) in damage from floods and storms alone. Figures for 2025 are still being compiled, but early indicators suggest the pattern of escalating impacts continues.

In the summer of 2025 alone, the EU could face €43 billion (over $49 billion) in short-term losses from heat waves, droughts and floods, with projections reaching €126 billion (over $145 billion) by 2029, according to a study by a University of Mannheim researcher and economists from the European Central Bank.

What Europe must deliver at COP30

At COP30, the EU will need to convert ambition into action, Martinelli stressed, highlighting three key demands: a just transition and fossil-fuel phase-out, climate finance and adaptation, and partnerships with vulnerable nations.

Europe must “step up with real commitments for a just transition that works for people and the planet, supporting countries to phase out fossil fuels, protect workers and nature, and unlock affordable clean energy for all,” she said.

On climate finance, she argued that the EU must follow through on the global finance goal agreed at COP29, support a plan to implement it, and “at least triple adaptation finance.”

“Without stronger solidarity and public investments, the 1.5C goal will remain just a promise on paper,” warned Martinelli.

At this point, she continued, the EU will be expected not only to call for ambition but to demonstrate that it can work with climate-vulnerable nations, rather than dictate terms.

“The priority now is to deliver an ambitious outcome through cooperation, not competition,” she said.

“Europe must lead by example,” Martinelli said, warning that its credibility depends on showing it “can build real bridges with climate-vulnerable countries, by matching its words with the resources and solidarity needed for ambitious climate action, both at home and globally.”

At COP30, European delegates face a test of relevance, as they represent one of the world’s principal emitters and donors.

Martinelli reiterated that credibility will not be restored through rhetoric alone, emphasizing the need for clear strategies and genuine partnerships.

Outside negotiating rooms, she said EU leaders must “come forward with concrete new pledges for climate finance, including adaptation and loss and damage.”

“This COP cannot become one pitting Global South and Global North countries against each other,” she added.