Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-05-Speech-1-070"
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"en.20050905.18.1-070"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I too should like to express my solidarity with the victims, although solidarity alone is not enough: we have to make a solemn commitment to the victims that we will make a serious and determined effort to prevent such disasters.
Let us begin, however, by asking ourselves why such events happen. In my view, global warming is certainly involved, as it has aggravated extreme events, or longer periods of drought, as was pointed out by Commissioner Dimas, whom I thank for being here today. I must also mention heavier rainfall – another phenomenon that has no counterpart in the past.
I would point out that a two-degree increase in air temperature, from 20 to 22°C, means a 12% increase in the water vapour content of the atmosphere and hence in the amount of energy in the atmosphere, as we have unfortunately seen confirmed in hurricane Katrina. We have to pool our efforts to organise our civil defence response: that is truly a job to be tackled at Union level and no longer just by the Member States.
We must strengthen our commitment to intervene following disasters, but above all, particularly as extreme events are getting worse, we must reinforce a global prevention plan that includes the maintenance of watercourses. It is clear that, when one addresses the situation on the ground, all the necessary measures need to be carried out on the ground. Such maintenance must allow for the hydroelectric use of watercourses, as well as reforestation and the recycling of biomass for energy purposes: in short, a measure designed to implement a systems-oriented plan of work.
That is the subject that I should like to put to you, and I have yet to hear any discussion of its importance. We must ensure that it can all be sustained with own resources so as to constitute a great resource for the European Union as a whole. It is a scheme that should enhance our security in terms of water resources, geology and fire protection and also enable us to make use of energy generated on the ground. It is a systems-oriented measure that I call on the European Union to promote in support of the actions taken by Member States."@en1
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