Why is climate change causing prices to rise in the EU?

Europe is the continent most affected by rising global temperatures. According to estimates by the European Central Bank, climate change will make life more expensive for EU citizens in the long run.

The relief was about to end: As the European Union’s satellite-based climate service Copernicus announced on Thursday, July was the second-hottest month in modern world history – remaining around 0.04 degrees Celsius with a global average air temperature of 16.91 degrees Celsius. Less than the previous record, set exactly one year ago. The relatives of the 120 heat-related deaths recorded in the Japanese capital Tokyo last July probably don’t care about this “obviously” – just like the Sicilian cattle farmers who have had to be given hay since last week after the scorching heat caused water shortages on the Mediterranean island.

It is not only tourists who continue to flock to the Mediterranean in the middle of summer, but also locals who feel that the Italian way of life does not bring joy when temperatures are well above 30 degrees. If heat waves cause crop failures and farmers’ losses, these problems will sooner or later appear in the form of higher prices for fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products. Until now, it was assumed that seasonal fluctuations generally do not make life more expensive. But as economists at the European Central Bank (ECB) in one Studying According to EU calculations, rising temperatures are likely to make life more expensive for EU citizens in the long run.