In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and European Council President António Costa, the EEAC Network Board draws on recent advice produced by the Network’s member councils. These independent expert advisory bodies, established by national or regional governments or parliaments, advise their respective authorities on climate change, the environment and sustainable development. The letter brings together the lessons and priorities emerging from this work in light of the climate risks Europe experienced this summer.
The Board warns that the summer of 2026 has again demonstrated the escalating risks climate change poses to Europe’s people, economies and ecosystems. Combined June and July temperatures in Western Europe were around 2.8°C above the 1991–2020 average. Extreme heat, wildfires and drought have placed growing pressure on health systems, infrastructure, water resources, food production and critical services across the continent.
The Board stresses that climate ambition must not weaken. It calls for immediate implementation of no-regret mitigation measures, irrespective of the pace of wider policy negotiations, and for the EU to use the first scheduled review of the European Climate Law in March 2027 to close the remaining gap between the EU’s 2040 climate target and scientific advice for a 90–95% domestic emissions reduction. “Climate resilience is a precondition for competitiveness, not a cost,” the EEAC Network Board states. The letter underlines that adaptation cannot substitute for mitigation: every additional fraction of a degree of warming narrows the range of impacts Europe can manage.
The EEAC Network Board calls on the European Commission, Parliament and Council to:
Use the 2027 review of the European Climate Law to close the gap to a 90–95% domestic greenhouse-gas emissions reduction by 2040, without relying on international offsets.
Adopt an ambitious integrated EU framework for climate resilience and risk management without delay, and resist any dilution of its scope during negotiations.
Ensure stable, adequate and predictable long-term funding for mitigation and adaptation, including for Member States and regions with the least capacity to finance resilience investments.
Apply harmonised, science-based climate-risk assessments systematically across sectors and borders.
Give nature-based solutions, including wetlands, forests and floodplains, clear legal and financial priority alongside necessary engineered infrastructure and civil-protection capacity.
Strengthen heat-health early-warning systems and targeted support for people and regions most exposed to climate risks.
Ensure that climate action and adaptation policies are fair, avoiding approaches that shift climate burdens onto those least able to bear them.
The Board emphasises that binding climate obligations can succeed only if they are matched by sufficient implementation capacity, effective enforcement and durable funding.
The letter is signed by Arnau Queralt i Bassa, Chair of the EEAC Network; Julia Hertin, Johanna Kentala-Lehtonen, Folmer de Haan and Jan Verheeke, EEAC Board Members; and Katriina Siivonen and Valentin-Veron Toma, EEAC Working Group Co-chairs.