Madrid (AFP) – The consequences of climate change such as last year’s deadly floods “increasingly threaten” the growth of Spain’s economy, one of the developed world’s most dynamic, the OECD warned on Wednesday. Spain has in recent years endured longer and more intense summer heatwaves, while fiercer autumn storms have drenched the country with torrential rain — extreme weather events that scientists attribute to human-driven climate change.
“Rising temperatures, frequent and intense droughts, floods, heatwaves, and wildfires increasingly threaten the country’s future growth, environment, and public health,” the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a report. The Paris-based organisation said “climate-related disasters have increasing economic costs” and that “enhancing resilience will require targeted adaptation investments and robust infrastructure.”
The October 2024 floods killed more than 200 people and caused severe damage in the eastern region of Valencia, an industrial and agricultural motor of Spain’s economy. Faced with an increased flood risk, the OECD suggested “restricting new development in high-risk flood zones, discouraging further exposure, and expanding flood protection infrastructure” to mitigate the damage.
Spain has been outstripping its peers, recording 3.5 percent growth in 2024, and the economy is predicted to expand 2.9 percent this year — more than double the eurozone forecast. The OECD highlighted the contribution of migration to this performance but also the challenges of an ageing population and an unemployment rate of 10.45 percent, the European Union’s highest.
The OECD said “structural reforms” were needed to increase GDP per inhabitant and strengthen budget stability, pointing to the use of digital tools as artificial intelligence spreads.
© 2024 AFP
