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BRUSSELS - Europe, the richest and most fertile continent and the model for the modern world, will be devastated by climate change, the European Union itself predicts.
The ecosystems which have underpinned all European societies from Ancient Greece and Rome to present-day Britain and France will be disabled by remorselessly rising temperatures, EU scientists forecast.
Much of the continent's age-old fertility will not survive the climate change forecast for the coming century, the scientists say, and its wildlife will be devastated.
Europe's modern lifestyles, from summer package tours to winter skiing trips, will go the same way, as the Mediterranean becomes simply too hot for holidays and snow and ice disappear from mountain ranges such as the Alps. The economic consequences will be enormous and the direct social consequences will also be vividly felt as heat-related deaths start to rise and extreme weather events, such as storms and floods, become more violent still.
The report will form a central plank in the European Commission's bid to speed up climate change action.
- INDEPENDENT
