Europe is burning

> The planet is warming, and too little is being done to prevent the worst from happening.

> Political will and stronger links between Member States are essential.

August 1st, 2022

(Joint statement with Volt Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus on fires in Europe)

Southern Europe is once again facing a series of fires and heat waves. This year, the severity of these and other extreme weather events has increased dramatically due to climate change. The planet is warming, and too little is being done to prevent the worst from happening. Individual states are often overwhelmed by the diversity of tasks to be accomplished, especially in times of economic hardship. Yet the level of cooperation between EU Member States is limited, and common practices and standards are rare.

Across Southern Europe, it is common to see forests drying up every year due to rising temperatures, decreasing rainfall, falling water tables and poor management of our natural resources. Deforestation and biodiversity loss play an underestimated role. But there is much to be done.

Volt Europa is committed to finding pan-European solutions to these problems, and proposes :

• Increased efforts in the fight against climate change: greater cooperation between EU Member States is needed. We all face the same problems, so solutions can be found and implemented together. 
• We call for a maximum global temperature increase of 1.5°C, as this is the most important element in preventing many natural disasters.  The same applies to the increase in biodiversity. We want to be fully committed to the development of renewable energies. All this can only be achieved if European countries work together. 
• Press for local governments to manage forests, implementing solutions such as fire herds or biomass. There is a need to move from seasonal firefighting services to fixed annual services for fire management. Volt calls for trained and highly qualified fire management professionals to act as transnational advisors in European fire campaigns. The training of pilots and fire-fighting personnel should be pooled for optimal mutual support capacity between countries. 
• Develop a European operations room to manage cross-border events and coordinate the response of Member States. We want major investment in tools for risk analysis, study, planning and simulation of fire behaviour patterns. All this can best be achieved through European cooperation.
• Each local area needs to understand and determine which fire regime has the best potential in its area and determine the use of building materials and land use accordingly. We need a new culture of fire design, architecture and construction. 

Finally, Volt Europa calls for investment in prevention to be a priority. Prevention is the only weapon we have, and it requires education, communication and a willingness to answer the call. Climate change will only make the situation worse, and we must act now if we want our countries to be more resilient and better prepared for extreme weather events. At Volt Europa, we are committed to finding solutions, but more importantly, we have the political will to ensure that they are implemented. There is an urgent need to take the necessary steps to tackle this problem.

Political will and stronger links between member states are essential. Volt is a pan-European party, and the political will to find European solutions is built into its very structure. This is a joint declaration of the Volt sections in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus. We are one, we are already a party for a united Europe. Volt focuses on the scientific search for solutions and best practices.

About Volt

As the first truly pan-European party, Volt is committed to reforming the European Union and responding to today's challenges in a coordinated way at European level. Volt's vision: a progressive Europe with an inclusive society, a climate-friendly economy, an adaptable education system and self-determined digitalisation.

Volt is convinced that only the democratic participation of all European citizens will prepare us for a sustainable, economically strong and socially just future. This is why Volt acts at all levels - from local to European, as a movement and as a party. The movement gives everyone a voice and the opportunity to engage politically from within society. Today, Volt is present all over Europe: thousands of people of all ages and professions are involved in 30 European countries with teams in hundreds of cities.

Contact

Eric Galera - Presse and Media relations
Mail : eric.galera@volteuropa.org 

Charlotte Barsky - Non-executive board member
Mail : robin.fontaine@volteuropa.org

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