There Is More To Spain's Horrific Flooding Than Just Climate Change
This could change things.
The recent floods in Spain were nothing short of biblical. A year’s worth of rain fell in just a few hours over the Valencia region. Not only was it the worst-ever peacetime disaster for the country, but it was also Europe’s deadliest flash flood of the past half-century. Over 200 people died, critical infrastructure was wiped out, and thousands of hectares of farmland on which the region relies were decimated. This is a “natural” disaster of the highest calibre. Yet, its impacts will be profoundly felt far beyond Spain’s borders, and this pain could trigger the seismic shift we need to mitigate these disasters.
So, what caused this immense flood? Was it man-made climate change?
Well, it can take time to attribute extreme weather to anthropogenic climate change directly, so we don’t yet know definitively. That being said, climate scientists have been warning us for at least a decade that climate change will cause far more frequent and intense rainfall over Europe and North Africa. There has also been a painfully obvious trend of extreme rainfall and flooding events in Europe and Northern Africa in recent years, with pretty much all of them being linked to climate change. As such, it is almost a sure shot that this flood was made significantly worse by our climate crimes.
The Guardian put it brilliantly, stating that this flood is “evidence of two undeniable truths: the human-caused climate crisis is just starting to pick up ferocity, and we need to quickly kill the fossil fuel industry before it kills us.”
Okay, so what are the implications?
Well, apart from the horrific and tragic loss of life and ruined lives (which are better covered by reports on the ground than me), there are far wider effects of this flooding.
The Valencian Agricultural Producers’ Association has stated that it expects “significant damage” to crops across the region. Reports have also found that the region’s agricultural infrastructure, such as greenhouses and logistical infrastructure, is either totally destroyed or too damaged to function. This is catastrophic for the region and those who live there, as its economy relies on agriculture, meaning recovery might be painfully slow.
But it is also terrible news for anywhere that relies on Valencia’s arable exports, such as the UK. 12% of the UK’s fruit imports and 8% of its vegetable imports come from Valencia. But countries like France and Germany import even more of Valencia’s produce than the UK. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say most of Western Europe relies on Valencia for its supply of crucial vitamin D-rich foods, like lemons.
But the UK, France, and Germany are all struggling under a severe cost of living crisis, with basic goods like food, water and energy costing more than they have in decades and wages have stagnated for decades too. As such, these economies can’t take more market shocks, particularly to everyday goods.
Yet, with the destruction not just of this season’s crop in Valencia but potentially a long, arduous recovery for the region, food prices in the import-dependent countries could skyrocket for years to come. This will squeeze workers even more than they already are, depressing these country’s economies. As critical healthy foods are being affected here, like fruit and vegetables, these rising costs can cause malnutrition in these import-dependent countries. This alone is horrific, but it can also profoundly decrease the nation’s productivity and hurt its economy.
Why does this matter?
Well, COP29 is rapidly approaching, and the UK, France and Germany hold enormous sway at these events.
Historically, governments have been more concerned with economics than climate policy. Not only is this partly because of oil lobbyists and political conflicts of interest (for example, ex-UK PM Liz Truss has strong links to the oil giant Shell), but it also came about from a broken isolationist ideology. The idea was to keep your country’s economy strong enough to weather the economic storms coming from climate change, and all will be okay.
But, for the first time, this flood has shown that solid climate policy is, in fact, economic policy. We live in a globalist economy. We have for centuries. As such, disasters thousands of miles away can profoundly affect you and your country, no matter where you are in the world. As such, if we don’t move to mitigate climate change, it doesn’t matter how strong your country’s economy is; you will suffer, and so will your economy.
The UK, France, and Germany are learning this harsh truth right before they enter one of the most pressured climate summits ever. They know that they can’t risk prioritising their, or anyone else’s, economic growth over desperately needed climate action, as their already weakened economies will simply crumble.
Hopefully, this will be enough for the delegates from these nations to ignore the lobbyists in the room and lead a global push to protect us all against climate change, not protect oil billionaires’ pockets.
But other countries have also recently learnt this harsh lesson. Extensive heatwaves in the global south, extreme flooding in China, flash floods in Central and Western Africa, and Hurricane Milton have all severely impacted global economies far more than expected, and all have been linked to man-made climate change. As such, COP29 might be the first climate summit where big players in the room, like the US, China, India and OPEC countries, don’t see the climate problem as abstract and in the way of their economic growth but as a present-day economic threat that will only get exponentially worse.
Let’s hope this is enough for us to actually take the actions desperately needed to save us from our own self-made climate catastrophe. Otherwise, those 200 Valencians and every other victim of climate change-induced extreme weather will have died in vain.
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Sources: The Guardian, The Grocer, i