EU starts building New Forces after Summer 2010 Extreme Weather Events' warning

 

In the 1st EU Parliament's Plenary Session after the unprecedented Summer 2010, Deadly, Destructive and Theatening Extreme Weather Events, (EWE, which hit the EurAsian area, surrounding a Russian Heatwave by EU and mainly Asian Floods, showing that EU itself is not guaranteed to avoid even worst remakes of the 2003 Record Heatwave which hit mainly France), a series of various, but converging EU moves to build Europe's capacities to face such Historic Challenges, started during this week in Strasbourg :

- The "gong" was given from Monday Evening, by an unusually well-attended meeting of EU Parliament's Environment/Health Committee, chaired by German MEP Jo Leinen (SD), where an exceptionally large Majority of MEPs, astonishingly spreading Wide, even from EuroLeft to British Conservatives (with Shadow Rapporteur Brittish MEP Marina Yanakoudakis), etc., voted to restore 2.100.000 € that an earlier EU Council decision had substracted from an 18,3 millions € strong EU Civil Protection's Budget for the Year 2011.

Concerning mainly "Civil Protection within the EU", as well as it "administrative Management", this was part of various Environment Protection activities funded by EU's 2011 Draft Budget, among others, f. ex., also New 2011-2015 Projects such as for the "establishment or improvement of Climate Forestry monitoring", including by "soil, aerial and Satellite levels", more "Financial Support for Measures and Projects" included in "LIFE's Financial Instrument for the Environment", in the context of a clear will to stress even more than ever that "Adaptation to Climate Change" (that some Experts consider as a cause of more frequent EWE, as the World Meteorological Organisation recently noted), "is Now a pending Priority", with "Special Attention .. to relevant Pilot Projects".

Significantly, MEPs did so while also acknowledging, on the occasion a Motion for Resolution tabled by 5 MEPs, (including German ChristianDemocrat/EPP Karl-Heinz Florenz, and French Liberal MEP Corine Lepage, former Minister, etc),  that UNO's process to fight Global Warming appeared rather stahled, after the December 2009 Climate Change Copenhagen Summit COP 15, (see "EuroFora"s  NewsReports on the event from the spot), in view of the on-going preparation of the December 2010 Cancun CCC summit (COP16), which might probably be limited only to some "Concrete" Measures, f..ex. on Forestry, "Green" Technology trasnfert, Funding of Developing Countries' CO2 emissions' reduction, etc, leaving more "Comprehenive" Solutions for later-on, during Next Year 2011.

At any case, the necessary Targets for CO2 Emissions reduction to fight against Global Warming, eye "Long-term" Time Deoadlines, located far away in the Future, such as 2020 and even 2050, so that it would obviously be unthinkable to limit, practically, only into ..."Waiting for 2050", the Action Urgently needed in order to ensure Today that People can be protected from any Extreme Weather Events as such which hit the EurAsian area on Summer 2010, (record deadly Heatwaves, Floods, Landslides, etc), EU Parliament's 1st vice-President, experienced MEP Mrs Rodi Kratsa (ChristianDemocrat/EPP) agreed with "EuroFora", smiling...

- After what happened with the 2003 record Heatwave, mainly in France, and now, on 2010, in Russia, Pakistan/India and China, etc., "it's obviously necessary, Today, to considerably strengthen EU's Scientific Research, Technologic Innovation, Monitoring and Crisis' response capacity in order to try to protect People" by exploring new possibilities to predict, prevent, reduce, and/or reconstruct after "such Extreme Environment Events", told "EuroFora" EU Parliament's 1st vice-President.

Even if at least part of such Disasters might, eventually, be induced by Criminal activities, f.ex. in some Forest Fires, relevant EU Projects such as, f.ex., the Space High-Tech program "GMES" : i.e. "Global Monitoring for Environment and Security", "could, probably, help also to establish the Facts and, eventually, locate those responsible", she added. Moreover, - "it would be also interesting and useful to ask and gather the "best practice" Experience of those countries which really faced, already, such EWE, or successfully managed to prevent them", Top MEP Rodi Kratsa observed to "EuroFora".

Next Day, on Tuesday, Kratsa chaired EU Parliament's debate on EU Humanitarian Aid to Flood-stricken Pakistan, where EU Commissioner responsible for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid & Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, denounced the  fact that the Summer 2010 Record Floods provoked such a "Mass-Destruction" in the Country, that its GDP, which was Last Year + 4,5%, will probably Fall Down to only 1,5%, (i.e. marking a - 3% GDP Drop), or even be Negative, and revealed that all the 71 Millions-strong € EU Aid package had been already "committed", so that, addressing only afterwards such an exceptionaly big Natural Catastrophe would need even more Money, while even "Safety" of "Humanitarian Workers" was an issue, there and elsewhere in the World, since, in overall, "last year "109 Humanitarian Workers had died", i.e. even "more than Peace Keepers" soldiers !..

- That's one among the reasons for which EU Commissioner Georgieva just anounced, at the conclusion of that EU Parliament's debate in Strasbourg on Pakistan, her intention to present soon an official, overall Plan in order to meet the current Need to "strengthen EU's Disaster Response, by better organizing and coordinating" actions, while also noting that several MEPs stressed (as "EuroFora" advocated earlier) that "we (EU) can do more", as she said...

EU Commissioner Georgieva's Plan focuses on 4 main points, starting by necessary efforts to "Anticipate" Major Hazards, by a kind of early warning, predicting and/or preventive measures, etc., while also systematically preparing a "Predictable" overview of EU's capacities, interlocutors, availabilities and "assets", but also guaranteing EU's "Independance and Neutrality", as an indispensable condition for Humanitarian work's efficiency, and dressing a comprehensive, "Holistic approach" for each Crisis, able to understand and deal with all its aspects and perspectives, before, during and after the events.

Meanwhile, the obvious need for the EU to become really able to protect EU Citizens, Economy and Member Countries, from such Extreme Environment Events, as well as to Help other, hardly hit, Countries all over the World, was also felt in the larger framework of a landmark Speech on "the State of the (European) Union", by the President of EU Commission, Jose Barroso, to EU Parliament in Strasbourg, (See specific "EuroFora"s NewsReports, drafts of which were already sent to Subscribers/Donors), where he stressed the "Need, now, .. to create a real European Crisis Response Capacity" :

- EU "Member States (already) have the Helicopters : they have the Civil Protection Teams. We (EU) now need to Pool them", Barroso pointed out. "That's what (EU) Commission will propose in October", he anounced. That's why EU Commission's President "urged the Member States to show that they are Serious about the (European) Union punching its Weight in this area", particularly when most EU Leaders agree that they "impatient to see the Union play the Role in Global affairs that matches its Economic Weight", as well as that "being a Global Player also means standing up for our Values", as "Human Rights" and Human Solidarity, which "also mean that we (EU) must come to the Aid of those facing a Crisis situation anywhere around the World".

- "We (EU) can no more satisfy ourselves by just being the 1st (Aid) Donor in the World, (but) without being able to guarantee that the Aid that we send will arrive to its destinators with Mr Putin's and Mr Obama's Helicopters !.... Here, also, we must be Serious", as, in general, EU must "show more seriousness in our common Foreign Policy and become a more respected player in the World", chacteristically replied the President of EU Parliament's largest political group (ChristianDemocrats/EPP), Joseph Daul.

Daul explained later to "EuroFora", that he was well aware of the current need to boost EU's Scientific Research, Technologic Innovation and Administrative Organisation, in order to become able to protect People from Extreme Weather Events, particularly after the the Summer 2010 Record Heatwave and Floods  in the Eur-Asian region, following also the 2003 Record Hearwave mainly on France) :

- "Certainly, Yes  ! This (point) is included in my Speech"'s larger, relevant call, observed Daul in reply to "EuroFora"'s question, referring to his calls, earlier today, to "keep our (EU's) Ambitions", despite the "Bitter taste" that 12/2009 UNO's Climate Change Summit at "Copenhagen", as well as "to pool our resources, in order to obtain scale economies and boost Efficiency" in "Innovation and Research", "Education and Training", "for Security and Defence", "for our Energy policy"          

"Europe played a Pioneer role in the fight  against Global Warming", and "our Ambitions remain fully intact", while "the Direction has been, now, irrevocably fixed, and we can be Proud" for that, as he reminded about the so-called "Copenhagen Agreement". - "Are we (EU) going to  continue witnessing that USA, China, India, etc. are able to advance in Fundamental or Applied Research", instead of "Investing on Innovation" inside the EU  ?, Daul questioned in concliusion.                                                                      

Among abudant, relevant, concrete cases, f.ex., 51 Millions € were recently asked  by private Aviation Companies only to the French Government alone, (and the overall Number would obviously be much Bigger for all the EU, figuring in Billions € !),  in order to reimburse at least several Technical "Tests" that they were obliged to do in order to find ways to send Safe Airplanes to bring back Home People blocked in foreign countries by huge Clouds of Ashes thrown all over Europe's skies, after a British AntiCyclone provoked a deviation of an initially banal and expected Icelandic Volcano eruption, spreading Cloud Ashes against Germany, Holland and France, etc.

 It would certainly COST LESS Money to fund Scientific and Technological Research f.ex. on Atmospheric Dynamics, in order to become able to predict, partly or totally prevent, alleviate and/or easily redress such kind of disruptions by Extreme Weather Events, instead of doing nothing, and waiting be obliged, later-on, to foot the bill by paying much more, afterwards, only to repair part of heavy damages, (which might have been, at least partly, avoided)...

Meanwhile, one of the Biggest and Strategic African Countries' Head of State, Mali's President Touré, speaking at EU Parliament to MEPs and Strasbourg's Journalists, including "EuroFora", at the eve of UNO's Summit on the "Millenium Goals" on Development, in a few days at New York, stressed the need for many Countries bordering Sahara to struggle against rapidly advancing "Desertification", and scarcity of Water, which hampers Economic Development, and is exploited even by Terrorist Groups mainly imported from elsewhere in order to provoke Dangerous Threats against Security, while also pushing more and more People towards Mass Immigration : It's not only Africa's, but also Europe's well-being and Security which is at stake, President Touré warned.

And another, even more crucial link, between Extreme Weather Events and EU Citizens' everyday lives, as well as Developing Countries, was spoted by EU Rapporteur on Agriculture and Food prices, famous "Green" MEP Jose Bové, who, speaking today to "EuroFora", observed that the "most important" factor for "Agricultural Production's Costs", are the "Prices of Raw Materials", which have "recently grew", partly "because of Speculation", particularly after the Record Heatwave and Fires which destroyed 1/3 of Russia's Wheat production, affectiing also other neighbouring, Wheat producing Countries, such as Kazakstan and Ukraine, to which was added meanwhile even Pakistan; hit by Record Floods focused on its large wheat fields..

- Such new Facts are added to an already long list of reasons to combat "scandalous Speculation on Raw Materials for Agriculture", threatening to adveresely affect People's "Food Prices", by exploiting even Extreme Weather Events, (as Russian President Medvedev recently denounced), so that we'd really like to see whether (French) President Sarkozy will keep his promise to raise the issue during his forthcoming Chairmanship of the G8 - G20 Global Governance, as Bové declared in a Press Conference at EU Parliament in Strasbourg, together wieth "Green" MEPs' leaders Cohn Bendit and Rebeca Harms.

Speaking to "EuroFora" after meeting with Mali's President Touré, EU Rapporteur Bové, who has just obtained a Majority of MEPs' Votes in favor of his Report on Agriculture and Food Prices, added that he was "certainly in favour" of "Scientific Research and Technologic Innovation" needed in order to find ways to efficiently fight against Extreme Climatic Phenomena, such as excessive Drought provoking Desertification, and/or Record Heatwaves destroying Wheat Production (See supra), f.ex. to "invent much Cheaper, innovative ways to find Water, f.ex. from Underground sources, because, "currently, even if this possibility already exists, it's Too Expensive", and this must change, as the famous MEP told us.

However, "we (EU) should also use the Technological Possibilities which are already available" in order to help protect the Agricultural production's Natural Environment from adverse Extreme Events, including by helping Developing Countries, and, therefore EU Citizens' well-being and Food prices, Bové added to "EuroFora" : - "Peasants generally need Simple, working and efficient solutions, without useless technical complications", and, "sometimes, it was proven that it's enough to interpose, f.ex. just some Peasants cultivating Fields in the middle of Forests, in order to protect them from being destroyed by Forest Fires, which, would, otherwise, spread too easily throughout a landscape "desertified" and "emptied" from any Agricultural Field, Bové advised.

All such Strasbourg's moves Timely come on the eve of UNO's forthcoming New York World Summit on  "Millenium Goals", where "Aid to Development and Technology transfert for the protection of Environment against Climate Change, might, indeed, be somehow linked, and combined together", at least in Future, as the competent EU Commissioner responsible for Development Aid, the experiences Anders Piebalgs, just confirmed to "EuroFora".

The urgency for the EU to advance and take a lead  in such, innovative and faster practical result-producing directions, was, meanwhile, even more highlighted by EU's Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard's replies, tonight at MEPs' Question time in EU Parliament in Strasbourg, where she observed, among others, that EU's "Strategy" in front of UNO's process for 12/2010 Cancun Climate Change Summit in Mexico is "not to neglect Long-term obsectives", and, given the current circumstances at the on-going International Negotiations, rather to "agree on a Framework" which can be used in order to make concrete advance on certain points "afterwards"....

(NDLR : See more complete DraftNews altready sent to "EuroFora"s Subsrcibers/Donors).
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Meanwhile, CoE timely prepares an important Ministerial PanEuropean conference on the fight against Major Natural or Man-made Hazards (known as "Eur-OPA") in... Russia (at Saint Petersbourg) before the End of September :

Going well beyond "Climate Change", it aims to urgently "Improve"' not only "Disaster .. Reponse", but also "Prevention".