00:00Executive Vice President Teresa Rivera,
00:01thank you so much for joining us
00:03on Euronews at this very critical week.
00:06We have seen devastating fires
00:08in France and Spain.
00:09You are in Madrid, on the ground.
00:11What assessment do you make of the situation?
00:13The situation is complicated,
00:16but everybody's working hard
00:18to ensure that we can control
00:20these wildfires. Now we've got
00:21an additional fire, very important fire
00:23very close to the border
00:26to Portugal, very important
00:28and wildfires in Greece and
00:30Creta. So we know that this is
00:32a very warring threat
00:34for the Europeans,
00:36for Europe, for our infrastructure,
00:38and we want to send
00:40a deep message of
00:42condolence and support
00:44to the victims in
00:46Los Gallardos, in
00:48France, in Spain,
00:50Madrid, but
00:52also for those relatives
00:54and friends that lost
00:56their beloved people. And as you say,
00:58there's been an enormous damage to
01:00land, but also people that have lost
01:02their lives. And we've seen
01:04in some cases the biggest evacuation
01:06of civilians since the end
01:08of Second World War. When you see
01:10these numbers, what does that say to
01:12you? Is this now the reflection of a
01:14climate crisis? This heat,
01:16lack of humidity,
01:18different winds, new type of
01:20wildfires will be increasingly
01:22worsened because of the climate change.
01:24as it has always been the case.
01:27We know that we
01:28have to be ready for what it is
01:30happening. And yes, the evacuations
01:32have been so impressive.
01:34I've seen pictures from
01:36my own home being sent
01:38by my daughters that saw the
01:40smoke, the color of the sky.
01:42So, threatening
01:44people that are
01:46living in the surroundings of
01:48urban areas.
01:50We know that this is something
01:52that we need to take into consideration
01:54on how we organize the
01:56land management, how we
01:58can pay attention to ensure that
02:00public awareness that people
02:02do care about the warning messages
02:04that the institutions, the
02:07regulators, the scientists
02:09show to us, the
02:10protection civil professionals
02:12that tell us, be careful.
02:14And this is why I'm so deeply
02:16worried when I hear people
02:19holding institutional
02:21responsibilities downplaying
02:23the threat of climate change.
02:25Because it is like saying
02:27to someone that alcohol,
02:29drinking whiskey is not
02:31connected to road
02:33safety. It is stupid.
02:35Yes, we know that climate change
02:37is happening and we know that
02:39the stream events, the stream
02:40temperatures, the stream heat
02:42is going to drive much more
02:44dangerous context.
02:45We need to be fully aware
02:47so to be able to prevent
02:49and to react, to protect
02:51our people, to ensure that
02:53we can build resilience instead
02:55of downplaying the threats
02:57saying or spreading fake
03:00information that
03:01could lower the capacity of
03:05the society to be ready
03:07and to protect themselves.
03:09And Commissioner, you have
03:11some very strong words there.
03:13You say there are those who
03:14downplay the threat.
03:16Would you argue that
03:17those, and we hear increasingly
03:19political voices saying that
03:21perhaps climate has become
03:22a bit of a cult, a bit of a
03:24religion, would you argue
03:26they are responsible, this is
03:27negligence also for everything
03:29that's happened this summer?
03:30I think this is such a stupid
03:32and irresponsible message.
03:34To me, the most similar
03:36example could be someone
03:38holding an institutional
03:40responsibility saying that
03:41you can drink as much
03:43whiskey as you want and then
03:45drive because traffic
03:47accidents are not connected
03:49to alcohol but to the state
03:50of the road or to the state
03:53of the car.
03:53Of course, there are many things
03:55that count, but we are
03:57by fueling wildfires, by
03:59fueling climate change, by
04:01fueling heat waves, by
04:03fueling different weather
04:05conditions, different climate
04:07systems that could be impacting
04:09and raising the level of
04:12danger of the wildfires that
04:14there have been existing in
04:17southern Europe for centuries,
04:19but now they are different.
04:21They are much more dangerous
04:22and we need to pay attention
04:23and they are happening not only
04:25in southern Europe, but in many
04:27other places in the rest of
04:29the continental Europe.
04:30Heat waves that reach 37,
04:3440 degrees in northern Europe
04:36is not normal.
04:38It's not something that is, we
04:40have always experienced heat.
04:41It is something very different.
04:43We know that you have dedicated
04:44a big part of your life to
04:46climate action.
04:47That this is a cause that you
04:48deeply believe.
04:49But you are now, in
04:502026, one of the few voices
04:52within this commission that
04:54still says climate should be
04:56at the forefront.
04:57Is it time to rebalance the
05:00priorities of this commission?
05:01This summer should be a
05:03wake-up call to rebalance.
05:04Well, I've always heard the
05:06president of the College of
05:09Commissioners stating that if
05:11we do not address climate
05:12change threats, we will have
05:14nothing to fight for in the time
05:16to come.
05:17So it is very convincing as it is
05:19the whole theme in the
05:21convention.
05:22It is at the very same truth
05:23that we have lots of new
05:26parliamentarians in the European
05:28parliament, political families
05:30and national politics that are
05:32are very vocal against climate
05:35science, against climate action.
05:38And I think that this is so, so
05:41dangerous, because they are
05:43lying to the people.
05:44So I think that instead of
05:46fighting against each other
05:49because of science, we should be
05:51thinking how to solve the
05:53problems.
05:53Because I think that the most
05:55important thing for any
05:56average citizen is to identify
05:58clear explanations that make
06:00sense, but also come up with
06:02solutions, with proposals, that
06:04even if they are challenging,
06:06complicated, we need to fix
06:08things differently, we become
06:11credible in how to handle
06:13these priorities.
06:15And yes, I think that this is an
06:16issue dealing with competitiveness,
06:19but it is an issue dealing with
06:20security and it is an issue
06:22dealing with performance of our
06:24infrastructures, whether it is
06:25energy infrastructures, whether it
06:27is road transportation or railway
06:30stations or hospitals being able to
06:32to hurt people that are ill and could
06:34not survive 37 degrees in a
06:37building.
06:38Just because we're running out of
06:39time, just to that point, there's
06:41been a big effort to in some ways
06:42relax some of the rules when it
06:44comes to green and the industry
06:46definitely wants to move in that
06:47direction.
06:48Is this now a moment to say, let's
06:51just stop it?
06:52This summer is a reminder of that.
06:54It should be a reminder now.
06:55I think that it could be fantastic
06:57to have simple rules, but what we
06:59cannot give up is in the
07:01protection, the context, the
07:04creation of the conditions to
07:05become consistent when thinking
07:07about climate threats and green
07:10economy.
07:11And there's been inconsistencies?
07:12That's what you're hinting at?
07:13Well, I think that we can still have
07:16a great potential ahead of us to
07:18ensure that we provide the right
07:20answers.
07:21But providing the right answers is
07:23not just getting rid of everything
07:24that has been building these green
07:26routes to keep on building the
07:29prosperity.
07:29We need to earn, we need to gain our
07:32future economy and the comfort of
07:35the society.
07:36And that doesn't go through going back
07:38to the, let's call it informally,
07:41wild west.
07:41Anyone willing to do whatever and
07:44anyone being absent of any type of
07:48responsibility in transforming the
07:50society.
07:50Well, Executive Vice President Teresa
07:52Rivera, thank you so much for
07:53joining us on Euronews for this
07:55important conversation.
07:56Appreciate it.
07:56Thanks a lot.
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