To mark the third annual EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis on 15 July, a high-level ceremony in Brussels and commemorations across the EU honoured those lost to and affected by the climate crisis and called for further action to reduce the risk of climate impacts.
In Europe and around the world, people are increasingly affected by the growing risks climate change poses to their lives, health and livelihoods.
This year’s commemoration ceremony in Brussels was attended by around 70 people from various backgrounds, from diplomats, national officials and staff from the European institutions, to NGOs, representatives of civil society and journalists.
European Commission Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition Teresa Ribera opened the ceremony with a keynote address. She was followed by Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Lars Aagaard, and the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, MEP Antonio Decaro.
Attendees also heard from citizens affected by the climate crisis, represented by Climate Pact Ambassador Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts from ‘Climate Justice for Rosa’.
All speakers reflected on the lives lost and destruction caused by the climate crisis and emphasised the need to act now to cut emissions, build resilience and protect people and communities from the impacts of climate change.
The ceremony concluded with a violin recital by Climate Pact Ambassador and composer Bartu Elci-Ozsoy.
While climate change is a global challenge, its consequences are felt locally. That is why, in addition to the event in Brussels, the European Climate Pact organised a diverse array of commemorative activities across 10 EU Member States, from a workshop in a secondary school in Romania that saw its roof completely destroyed in a 2021 storm, to the painting of a public mural in Portugal in tribute to the victims of the Pedrógão Grande wildfires.
The EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis was established by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission in 2023 to honour those who lost their lives to the climate crisis, but also to raise awareness of actions people can take to reduce their risk of climate impacts and climate disasters. It is marked annually on 15 July.
