Heatwaves could cost France €10-15 billion, environment minister says
Triodos Bank said heat and wildfire damage could erase a year of EU growth, with France facing the steepest hit.
- Triodos Bank research estimates extreme heat and wildfires will cost Europe a cumulative €180 billion in 2026, representing around 1% of GDP and threatening to push the bloc near stagnation against expected growth of roughly 1.1% this year.
- The damage stems from four distinct channels, with lower crop yields and dairy output accounting for about 0.15%, while constrained energy generation and disrupted transport capacity add a further 0.12% to 0.15% in losses.
- France emerges as the worst-affected nation, losing an estimated 1.4 percentage points of growth and facing a contraction of about 0.6%, while roughly 25,000 heat-related deaths this summer imply a cost of €1.5 billion to €7 billion.
- Wildfires had burned over 490,000 hectares across Europe by last week, exceeding the 20-year average of 197,000 hectares, with ecosystem service destruction adding €100 million to €4.6 billion in costs according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
- Research suggests adaptation could cut productivity losses by around 40%, yet Triodos argues Europe requires stronger emissions action, citing the Commission's recent move to ease carbon pricing as hindering necessary climate progress.
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In the past, "the summer was a time of year that I loved", tells the AFP with nostalgia this 85-year-old woman. But this time is now over. Claudine Heitzmann is staying in a large studio well-ordered two steps from the quays of the Rhône, on the 4th floor of an intergenerational municipal residence where the elderly live together autonomous and students. A bright apartment with a small balcony, facing south. If it is pleasant in winter or at the…
Heat Waves May Cost France Up to €15 Billion, Minister Says
The Minister for Ecological Transition has advanced by revealing a data not yet stabilized, but her estimate remains plausible.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Environmental Transition organized a crisis meeting following repeated heat waves. According to the minister, their cost would be in billions of euros.
This summer's high heats could affect up to half a point of growth in 2026 if the estimate revealed by Monique Barbut at the opening of a drought crisis meeting on Wednesday materialized.
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