**EU Leaders Honor Victims of Global Climate Crisis, Urge Swift Action**
The European Union marked its third annual Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis with a high-level ceremony in Brussels and a series of commemorative activities across the EU. The events paid tribute to those who have lost their lives or been affected by the escalating consequences of climate change, and underscored the urgent need for more decisive action to mitigate its impacts.
The central ceremony in Brussels gathered around 70 participants, including diplomats, national officials, European institution staff, NGO representatives, civil society members, and journalists. The event began with a keynote address by European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera, who leads the EU’s transition towards a clean, just, and competitive future. Ribera emphasized the growing risks that climate change poses to lives, health, and livelihoods in Europe and beyond.
Other prominent speakers included Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard and MEP Antonio Decaro, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. The program also featured testimony from citizens directly affected by the climate crisis, represented by Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts, a Climate Pact Ambassador from the group ‘Climate Justice for Rosa’. All speakers called for immediate and ambitious measures to cut emissions, strengthen resilience, and protect communities from the worsening effects of climate change.
The ceremony concluded with a violin recital by Climate Pact Ambassador and composer Bartu Elci-Ozsoy, offering a solemn moment of reflection in memory of climate crisis victims.
Recognizing that climate change is a global phenomenon with very local impacts, the European Climate Pact also facilitated commemorative activities in 10 EU Member States. Initiatives ranged from a school workshop in Romania—where a storm in 2021 had destroyed a secondary school roof—to the creation of a public mural in Portugal in honor of those lost in the Pedrógão Grande wildfires.
The EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis was established in 2023 by the European Parliament, the Council, and the European Commission. Marked annually in mid-July, it aims not only to honor victims but also to raise awareness and promote actions that reduce the risks associated with climate impacts and disasters.
