Spain urges EU to create climate adaptation fund

Spain has called on the European Union to establish a dedicated climate adaptation fund and introduce binding targets to help member states cope with rising costs from extreme weather and climate change.

Madrid estimates that EU countries have suffered about €822 billion ($955 billion) in losses from climate change and extreme weather since 1980, with roughly a quarter of those losses recorded between 2021 and 2024.

In a letter to EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, Spain’s Environment Minister Sara Aagesen said reactive measures were no longer enough to protect Europe’s security, prosperity and competitiveness.

Spain proposed financing the adaptation fund through measures including levies on oil and gas profits, while also suggesting that common EU debt instruments could be considered.

The proposal calls for climate risk assessments to be carried out every five years at European, national and regional levels, with the findings incorporated into public planning, infrastructure, land use and investment decisions.

Madrid also wants binding short, medium and long term adaptation targets covering sectors such as water, health, infrastructure, forests, tourism, agriculture and fisheries.

Spain proposed strengthening the EU’s civil protection system, rescEU, into a permanent climate emergency response mechanism with shared equipment, common protocols and a dedicated aerial firefighting fleet.

Other proposals include a public private European reinsurance scheme and climate risk bonds to help cover losses caused by extreme weather.

Spain said climate adaptation must be pursued alongside efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that the effectiveness and affordability of adaptation measures would depend on limiting future global warming.

The Spanish Environment Ministry said the proposal had been shared with other EU member states. The European Commission said climate adaptation funding would form part of negotiations over the next EU budget, while noting that decisions on windfall taxes on energy companies remain under the authority of individual countries.