News about climate change

In a keynote speech at the Green Swan 2026 Conference in Manila, ECB Executive Board Member Frank Elderson argued that climate change and nature degradation will continue to shape economies. He noted that summer 2026 was the warmest ever recorded in Western Europe, with severe droughts, wildfires and very low river levels affecting transport, industry and energy production. Europe is warming more than twice as fast as the global average, and tens of thousands of excess deaths were linked to extreme heat during the summer months. He argued that climate and nature-related shocks add up and can leave lasting economic scars, such as reduced labour productivity, damaged infrastructure and output that stays below trend for years. These events have also already pushed up wholesale electricity prices and continue to influence food prices.