Europe suffered 3 of the world’s 10 costliest climate disasters in 2024

How much does it cost Europe to ignore the climate crisis? A new report from Christian Aid, “Counting the cost 2024: a year of climate breakdown“, provides the answer: 13.87 billion dollarswhich is the price paid due to 3 climate disasters that hit the Old Continent in 2024, entering the world top 10 of the most expensive events.

There storm Boriswhich crossed central Europe, and the floods and inundations in Spain and Germany have caused not only considerable economic damage, but also the loss of 258 human lives. These events, which add to a long list of natural disasters that have hit the continent in recent years, raise crucial questions about Europe’s ability to tackle the climate crisis and protect its citizens.

Christian Aid report analyzes the ten costliest climate disasters globally in 2024, each of which caused more than $4 billion in damage. At the top of the list we find the United States, hit by a series of devastating hurricanes. THE’Hurricane Miltonwhich hit the East Coast in October, caused $60 billion in damage and 25 deaths. In September, theHurricane Helene it hit the United States, Cuba and Mexico, causing damage of 55 billion dollars and 232 victims.

It is crucial to underline that the estimates are based primarily on insured losses, thus underestimating the real economic impact and not considering the human cost of these tragedies. The report also highlights 10 extreme weather events which, despite not having generated sufficient insured losses to enter the top 10, they had devastating consequencesespecially in developing countries.

Among these, the Cyclone Chido which hit the islands of Mayotte in Decemberprobably causing more than 1,000 victims. A severe drought in Colombia has led to the Amazon River losing 90% of its volume, threatening indigenous populations who depend on the river for survival. Heat waves have affected 33 million people in Bangladeshworsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Floods have devastated West Africaaffecting 6.6 million people in Nigeria, Chad and Niger. In southern Africa, lhe worst drought in living memory has affected more than 14 million people in Zambia, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Christian Aid’s report makes an urgent call to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and provide financial support to the most vulnerable countries. “The human suffering caused by the climate crisis reflects political choices,” he says Patrick WattsCEO of Christian Aid. “Disasters are amplified by the decision to continue using fossil fuels and by failure to meet financial commitments to poorer countries.”

“The scientific evidence of the lethal toll that burning fossil fuels is having on people and the planet is incontrovertible,” Watt continues. “These terrible climate disasters are a warning sign of things to come if we do not accelerate the energy transition“.

2024 was probably the warmest year on recordsurpassing the 2023 record. A figure that confirms the urgency of intervening. Europe, hit hard by extreme climate events, has a key role to play in the fight against climate change. Not only by reducing its own emissions, but also by promoting adaptation policies and supporting the most vulnerable countries. As the teacher points out Joanna Haigh of theImperial College London“politicians who downplay the urgency of the climate crisis harm their own people and cause untold suffering around the world.”