The European Union top crisis management official has warned that rolling back environmental regulations is heightening the risk of catastrophic wildfires, as southern Europe battles severe blazes.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the EU commissioner for crisis management said the connection between climate policy and wildfire intensity could no longer be ignored. Weakening the European Green Deal, he argued, would lead to more extreme fire seasons that would overwhelm national firefighting capacities.
His comments come as France, Spain, and Portugal enter a fourth consecutive week of widespread wildfires that have forced more than 200,000 people from their homes. In France Gironde region, 2,000 firefighters have been deployed to contain flames that have come within 15 kilometers of Bordeaux. Spain has partially lifted evacuation orders in the Madrid region, allowing 44,000 residents to return, but officials warned that a new heatwave bringing 40-degree Celsius temperatures could reignite dormant fire fronts.
The crisis chief pointed to data showing the fire season now starts earlier and covers a wider area than a decade ago. The EU emergency response coordination center fielded more activation requests in the past month than in the entire 2023 fire season.
The EU civil protection mechanism allows member states to request firefighting aircraft and crews from other countries, but the system is stretched thin as multiple nations face simultaneous emergencies. Portugal requested assistance from the RescEU fleet while France activated bilateral agreements with Italy and Greece.
Critics of the EU green agenda argue that ambitious climate targets impose costs industry cannot afford. The crisis chief countered that the cost of inaction is visible in charred landscapes and evacuated communities across the continent. He warned that climate disasters carry a growing security dimension as competition for water and land intensifies across the Mediterranean.
Environmental groups pointed to European Forest Fire Information System data showing the area burned in the EU this year is 35 percent above the 20-year average. They called on governments to maintain funding for both climate mitigation and civil protection.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has committed to maintaining Green Deal core targets through 2030 but faces pressure from member states to relax rules on agricultural emissions. The crisis chief intervention frames climate policy as an essential investment in Europe resilience rather than a burden.
With temperatures expected to climb again this week, the European fire season shows no sign of easing. Officials said the EU will continue coordinating cross-border support but acknowledged that without deeper structural changes, Europe faces increasingly destructive summers.
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