Europe is living the crisis. Its politics haven't caught up
The Guardian published a striking investigation this week into how European governments are responding or failing to respond to the floods now battering the continent with increasing regularity. Scientists quoted in the piece describe rainfall events as genuinely unprecedented. Communities are barely recovering from one storm before the next arrives. And yet the political response keeps falling short. What's notable is that this isn't old-fashioned climate denial. Leaders largely accept the science. But somewhere between acknowledgment and action, something keeps getting lost -- electoral pressure, short-term economics, a media cycle that treats each flood as an isolated event rather than a pattern. For those of us working in climate, this is a familiar and frustrating dynamic. The technical case for action is settled. The political case keeps having to be remade, over and over, against the current. It's a reminder that communications, advocacy, and systems thinking are not soft skills in this work -- they're load-bearing. 👉 Read moreThe Guardian published a striking investigation this week into how European governments are responding or failing to respond to the floods now battering the continent with increasing regularity. Scientists quoted in the piece describe rainfall events as genuinely unprecedented. Communities are barely recovering from one storm before the next arrives. And yet the political response keeps falling short. What's notable is that this isn't old-fashioned climate denial. Leaders largely accept the science. But somewhere between acknowledgment and action, something keeps getting lost -- electoral pressure, short-term economics, a media cycle that treats each flood as an isolated event rather than a pattern. For those of us working in climate, this is a familiar and frustrating dynamic. The technical case for action is settled. The political case keeps having to be remade, over and over, against the current. It's a reminder that communications, advocacy, and systems thinking are not soft skills in this work -- they're load-bearing. 👉 Read moreExpert summary pending. Showing the newcomer version.