Teresa Ribera, the European Commission's executive vice president for climate policy, says the EU is shifting from emission cuts alone to a broader focus on adapting to the effects of climate change. A new framework due this month would push member states to measure climate risk, build infrastructure for future conditions, and create climate resilience plans as a condition for EU funding. The push follows more than 200 billion euros in climate-related economic losses in the EU between 2021 and 2024, much of it uninsured. The EU is also folding climate risk into industrial policy, infrastructure, public spending and competition decisions. Ribera acknowledges that public budgets and private insurance cannot cover the full cost of extreme weather, so investment in adaptation is becoming an economic priority. The bloc has kept its legally binding 2040 emissions target even as it softens some disclosure and carbon pricing rules. For businesses and governments, the message is that climate risk will increasingly shape access to funding and regulatory approval.
