Week Ender — Searing Contradiction: Wildfires and climate politics

Wildfires may sound remote — something that happens deep in a forest or on an empty mountainside. But in Europe, there’s often very little distance between nature and major population centers. That’s why the fires near Bordeaux and Madrid have been so frightening: they’re not burning somewhere far away, but threatening homes, businesses and entire urban regions. European countries are responding by sending planes, helicopters and hundreds of firefighters to help one another. But while Europe has built an effective system for reacting once the flames are raging, it’s still struggling with the less dramatic work of prevention. POLITICO senior climate reporter Zia Weise joins host Sarah Wheaton, sustainability reporter Marianne Gros and Agnes Rønberg from the agriculture team to examine how abandoned land, poorly managed forests and disappearing livestock are making fires harder to control. They also unpack the growing bill for homes, farms and businesses — and how the costs eventually spread to insurers and cash-strapped governments — while asking whether Brussels can prepare Europe for worsening climate disasters as it rolls back parts of the Green Deal. To contact us, send us a voice note or a message on WhatsApp here, or at +32 491 05 06 29. You can also email us at podcast@politico.eu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episoder(652)

The race for the EU’s plum diplomatic jobs begins

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5 Okt 16min

Russia's not-quite-war on Europe

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2 Okt 34min

The €865 billion brainstorming session

Ukraine’s prime minister is warning of a $20 billion defense funding gap as Russia intensifies its attacks and Kyiv struggles to protect its skies and keep the country running. Zoya Sheftalovich and S...

1 Okt 16min

Is Bardella too toxic for Le Pen’s campaign?

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30 Sep 16min

Trump, diesel and Europe's new energy squeeze

Another surge in energy prices risks making life even more expensive for Europeans — especially once winter rolls around. So when EU energy ministers meet in Dublin today, affordability will be at th...

29 Sep 15min

SPONSORED EPISODE: What is polyester worth?

A new era for European defense?

Europe’s defense ministers are meeting today to discuss whether the EU needs its own version of NATO’s article 4. This so-called Emergency Security Protocol would allow capitals to bring together all ...

28 Sep 18min

The Pope is fretting about frontier AI — what’s the EU’s answer?

European lawmakers this week called for the EU’s artificial intelligence regulations to hold American tech companies liable for the risks their most advanced models pose to humanity. But how much sway...

25 Sep 35min