Spain, France, UK warn megafires show climate change is ‘threatening our way of life’

BRUSSELS — The massive blazes raging in Spain and France epitomize the threat climate change is posing to Europe, the British government said in joint statements issued with the two fire-stricken countries overnight. Wildfires have burned tens of thousands of hectares near Madrid and Bordeaux this week, razing hundreds of homes and displacing more than 300,000 people in one of the biggest fire-related evacuations Europe has seen to date. Blazes have also erupted in other parts of the continent, which is suffering from widespread drought after Europe’s hottest June on record, including in the United Kingdom. In response, the U.K. issued joint statements with Spain and France on Wednesday night reaffirming their commitment to fighting global warming and preparing for increasing climate disasters. After meeting in Madrid on Wednesday, Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares and his British counterpart Ed Miliband — who served as the U.K.’s net-zero chief until recently — described this summer’s fires and extreme heat as “a consequence of the climate crisis.” They “agreed that this summer’s wildfires demonstrated that climate change was now a national security emergency facing Europe and threatening our way of life,” the statement read. In a separate statement, Miliband and French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot declared that “this summer’s wildfires demonstrated the risks posed to Europe by climate change.” In both statements, the ministers called for greater domestic and global action to slash planet-warming emissions and adapt to a warming world. They also reiterated their commitment to the 2015 Paris climate accord. “Decarbonisation, energy security, environmental protection and resilience are inseparable from our security and the prosperity and competitiveness of our economies,” the British-Spanish statement read.