“Europe is not prepared for rapidly growing climate risks” – EEA reports in first-ever European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) 

“The EUCRA report is a first-of-its-kind report for Europe that provides a holistic view on the severe impacts climate change can have on our future” – Elco Koks, MIRACA Coordinator 

Europe’s critical infrastructure—including transport, energy, communication, and water systems—plays a vital role in daily life and well-being but is increasingly vulnerable to climate-related threats such as extreme weather events. Because these systems are interconnected, a failure in one part can have cascading effects.  

Many infrastructures are ageing and under pressure, requiring proactive adaptations to meet future climate challenges. Incremental changes might be sufficient in some areas, but others will need major transformational changes for real long-term resilience. Improved data and regulatory stress tests are essential for understanding risks and prioritizing investments. Policies must be created with a clear consideration of climatic-related hazards and responsibilities for infrastructure management. 

EUCRA 

Europe faces escalating climate risks, including extreme heat, droughts, wildfires, and flooding. Projections indicate worsening conditions even under optimistic global warming scenarios. The European Environment Agency (EEA) has introduced the first-ever European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) to guide policymakers in identifying priorities for climate change adaptation (link here).  

The assessment highlights a lag in policy and adaptation actions – urging urgent measures – as incremental changes may not suffice. Southern Europe is identified as a hotspot for multiple risks, such as wildfires and agricultural impacts. The EUCRA identifies 36 major climate risks across ecosystems, food, health, infrastructure, and the economy. Urgent action is particularly crucial to conserve ecosystems, protect against heat, floods, and wildfires, and ensure the viability of solidarity mechanisms. MIRACA project coordinator Elco Koks (VU Amsterdam) co-authored Chapter 15, together with Paul Sayers (Sayers and Partners). 

Key Takeaways from Chapter 15: 

Increasing Exposure to Extreme Weather Events 

• Europe’s critical infrastructure, such as transport (land, sea, and air), energy, communication, and water infrastructure, are increasingly exposed to extreme weather events. Heat, floods, droughts, landslides, and other climate-related hazards threaten the services infrastructure provides. 

Network Vulnerabilities 

• Infrastructure assets are often part of an interconnected network (e.g. train lines connecting different countries) – a failure at one point in the network can cascade across the system. Understanding and managing the performance of the system as a whole is a prerequisite for climate resilience. 

Ageing Infrastructure and Adaptation Deficit 

• Critical infrastructure operates over long time frames. Due to the age and condition of much of Europe’s infrastructure, there is a significant adaptation deficit even before considering increasing climate risks in the future. Proactive action is needed to adapt rather than wait until systems fail. 

Need for Incremental and/or Transformational Adaptation 

• Incremental adaptation may be sufficient in some cases. Yet in some sectors and locations, transformational change will be needed to ensure the resilience of critical infrastructure in the long term. 

Importance of Data and Analytics 

• Better data and analytics are required to understand the condition of existing assets, the risks they face, and how they can best be adapted. This will likely include regulatory ‘stress tests’ to explore weaknesses and prioritize infrastructure investments. 

Policy Implementation and Responsibility 

• Policies to increase the resilience of critical infrastructure must be implemented at both national and EU levels, with proper consideration of climatic hazards, now and in the future. Infrastructure owners and managers must have clear responsibilities. 

“Climate extremes put pressure on our infrastructure systems, in particular towards the future. We need to re-think how we design future-proof and climate-resilient infrastructure” – Elco Koks 

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