BERLIN (Reuters) – Extreme heat, drought and floods caused by climate change cost Germany at least 6.6 billion euros ($6.69 billion) in damages annually on average in the past two decades, a study showed on Monday, with some severe episodes pushing losses into the tens of billions.
The study by economic research company Prognos comes as authorities across Europe battle to control huge wildfires, with hundreds of deaths blamed on soaring temperatures that scientists say are consistent with climate change.
Germany’s economy and environment ministries cited the study as showing that floods in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia in 2021 cost more than 40 billion euros in damages, and combined with the hot summers of 2018 and 2019 the cost to Europe’s biggest economy rose to 80 billion euros.
The study authors said the estimates of damage since the year 2000 could be even higher due to individual events that have not been examined yet and unquantifiable effects such as the impact on health and the consequences for biological diversity.
In 2018 and 2019, Germany’s forests and agriculture suffered damages of 25.6 billion euros due to heat waves and drought, in addition to nine billion euros in damages caused by workers’ lower productivity in industry and commerce sectors.
German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said the numbers the study showed were alarming.
“We must and we will now invest more in climate protection and climate adaptation in order to better protect our population,” Lemke said.
With the aim of being carbon neutral by 2045, the German government has stepped up climate protection efforts with far-reaching reforms for the utility sector and across manufacturing industries, buildings, transport and agriculture.
($1 = 0.9873 euros)
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, Editing by Miranda Murray, William Maclean)
