Heat, drought, wildfires, and low water levels are no longer merely an environmental problem. The consequences of climate change are increasingly affecting agriculture, businesses, and households—and are thus becoming an economic factor.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell warned the European Parliament this week that Europe's extreme summer could further intensify price pressures. Crop losses, rising energy demand, damage to infrastructure, and higher costs associated with adapting to extreme weather are having an increasing impact on the European economy.

 

This trend is particularly evident in agriculture at the moment.

Heat and drought are hurting crop yields

According to the latest data from the European Commission's Joint Research Center, extreme heat and water shortages have significantly worsened the outlook for summer crops in large parts of Western and Central Europe.

The countries affected include France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

For some summer crops, projected EU yields are now up to 14 percent below the average for the past five years. In regions particularly hard hit, local crop failures are even possible.

Pastures and grasslands are also suffering from the drought. This is putting additional pressure on the supply of animal feed.

 

Water Is Becoming an Economic Factor

According to the European Drought Observatory, critical drought conditions persisted across large parts of Europe in mid-August. Drought alerts were in effect in France, southern Germany, northern Italy, and large parts of the Danube region—including Austria—among other areas.

At the same time, four of Europe’s major rivers—the Rhine, Danube, Loire, and Po—reached exceptionally low water levels in August.

This doesn't just affect nature. Low river levels can disrupt shipping and supply chains, make electricity generation more difficult, and limit the availability of water for agriculture and industry.

 

Climate risks are becoming price risks

This is giving rise to a trend that consumers are increasingly able to feel firsthand.

Declining harvests can drive up food prices. Heat waves increase the demand for electricity used for cooling. Low water levels can raise transportation costs. Wildfires, floods, and other extreme events cause damage to buildings and infrastructure and, in the long term, increase the pressure on insurance companies and public budgets.

Climate change is thus increasingly becoming a price risk as well.

 

Facts & Figures

• Yield forecasts for certain summer crops are up to 14 percent lower than the five-year average

• Severe effects of heat and water shortages in Austria, Germany, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, among other countries

• Severe drought conditions across large parts of Europe

• Exceptionally low water levels in the Rhine, Danube, Loire, and Po

• increasing pressures on agriculture, energy supply, transportation, and infrastructure

 

Conclusio

The economic consequences of climate change often don't become apparent until food prices rise, insurance premiums increase, or companies have to adjust their production and supply chains.

But this is exactly what is already happening.

Climate protection and climate adaptation are therefore no longer just a matter of environmental policy. They are increasingly becoming an economic issue: How high will the costs be if Europe does not adapt its infrastructure, agriculture, and energy supply quickly enough to a warmer and more extreme climate?

The key question, therefore, is less and less whether climate change costs money—and more about how high the bill will ultimately be.

 

Photo: Simon Stiell, UN Climate Chief | © European Union, 2026 / Claudio Centonze | CC BY 4.0

Over the next seven weeks, the harbor of the small town of Taliarte on the east coast of Gran Canaria will become an open-air laboratory. In twelve mesocosms—enclosed, floating experimental tanks—an international research team led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel will test for the first time whether concrete debris is suitable for increasing the alkalinity of seawater. Targeted alkalinization (Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement, OAE) mimics the process of natural rock weathering and can increase the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. It is also intended to help mitigate the increasing acidification of the oceans caused by the climate crisis.

 

“This year, the goal is to compare a liquid source of alkalinity with ground concrete rubble and to assess how well both substances are tolerated by the marine environment,” explains Professor Emeritus Dr. Ulf Riebesell, a marine biologist at GEOMAR and co-director of the experiment, in a press release. The experiment is part of the international research project OceanAlkAlign, which aims to standardize measurement and assessment methods for OAE and thus create a robust foundation for future decisions.

 

Why We Need Active CO2 Removal

The idea of adding additional alkalinity to the ocean is part of a larger context. Since the beginning of industrialization, the CO2 content of the atmosphere has risen sharply; a significant portion of the gas dissolves in the ocean, altering its chemistry. The result is progressive acidification, which can put particular pressure on organisms that form calcareous structures—such as mussels or corals. At the same time, the additional CO2 is driving global warming.

According to many current scenarios, emissions reductions alone will not be sufficient to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. For this reason, methods for active carbon dioxide removal (CDR) are coming into focus. OAE is considered an option with high potential, provided it can be implemented effectively and in an environmentally responsible manner.

 

Increase CO2 Absorption by Seawater

Ocean alkalinization increases the buffer capacity of seawater. Put simply, this causes a decrease in pH, allowing the water to absorb more CO2 and store it in more stable dissolved forms. This is chemically straightforward; however, it remains unclear how marine ecosystems respond to different sources of alkalinity, concentrations, and forms of input, and where the tolerance limits lie. This is where the mesocosm experiments come in: Like giant test tubes, they replicate a section of the ecosystem—including planktonic food webs, microorganisms, and biogeochemical processes—and thus allow for comparisons under controlled conditions.

 

Concrete Rubble: Waste with Potential—and Questions

Concrete demolition waste is one of the largest waste streams worldwide: an estimated five billion metric tons are generated each year, and only a fraction of that has been reused to date. Because concrete contains cement, which has alkaline properties, finely ground material could, in principle, serve as a source of alkalinity. Model-based estimates are therefore being used to assess whether this could be used to sequester larger amounts of CO2 in the long term.

However, a material that seems unproblematic on land can have different effects in the ocean. Particles can increase turbidity or harm microorganisms, which in turn could impact food webs. “A waste product doesn’t automatically become a sustainable solution just because it’s available,” says Associate Professor Dr. Kai Schulz of Southern Cross University (Australia), co-leader of the experiment. “We need data showing under what conditions OAE could be ecologically acceptable and where the limits lie.”

 

An Open-Air Laboratory at PLOCAN

It is no coincidence that the experiment is taking place in Taliarte: The Canary Islands Marine Research Institute (PLOCAN, Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias), a long-standing research partner of GEOMAR, is located right on the harbor here. From here, the mesocosms are deployed, filled, and monitored throughout the entire duration of the experiment.

 

Goal: Define a “safe space for action”

The results from Taliarte are intended to help determine threshold values: Which dosages alter water chemistry in the desired way—and at what point do ecological effects become apparent? What differences are evident between solid particles and dissolved alkalinity? And how can findings from laboratory, mesocosm, and field studies be synthesized in a way that makes them suitable as a scientific basis for decision-making? “Understand before scaling up—that’s the key,” emphasizes Schulz. “If OAE is ever discussed on a larger scale, it should be based solely on transparent data regarding benefits and risks.”

 

Link

GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel