EU to launch climate insurance scheme after summer of extreme weather

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The European Union will create a "climate insurance alliance" to increase cover for extreme weather events, ‌European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, as ‌the bloc emerges from a summer of drought, wildfires and heatwaves.

Climate change has made Europe ​the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average.

This year's wildfire season was one of Europe's worst on record, and a succession of heatwaves killed dozens, disrupted power supplies, reduced productivity and shut schools.

According to EU figures, ‌only a quarter of ⁠the climate-related economic losses in the bloc are insured and its new scheme would attempt to address that.

"Far too ⁠often, national budgets become the insurer of last resort. We need to take action to close this gap," von der Leyen said in a speech to ​the European ​Parliament.

While the EU has an ambitious ​policy framework to reduce the ‌greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, it has been slow to prepare for the impact of global warming.

The EU's independent climate advisers said in February that Europe was underinvesting in climate adaptation, and urged action including better planning to avoid building houses in flood-exposed areas and designing cities to ‌help people stay cool during heatwaves.

"We need ​to step up dramatically on preparedness," von der ​Leyen said.

She also promised ​other proposals. A "climate resilience" strategy, due in October, on how ‌to manage climate risks in 100 ​vulnerable European territories. ​A heatwave plan will aim to improve early warning systems, and an EU water plan will work to increase drought risk management.

Brussels has ​also asked senior firefighters ‌to make proposals to better manage wildfires, including for the EU ​to form its own firefighting fleet.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett, Editing ​by Louise Heavens and Barbara Lewis)