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Europe has been told to \u201ckick the fossil fuel addiction\u201d as huge parts of the continent continue to swelter under record May temperatures. <\/p>\n
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Weather forecasters warn that several countries are trapped under a \u201chighly anomalous and powerful\u201d heat dome<\/a> \u2013 an atmospheric pattern that locks in heatwaves and is becoming more frequent due to human-caused climate change.<\/p>\n Dozens of European cities have witnessed temperatures far above the climatological normal high for this time of year, with London (+16\u00b0C) and Paris (+14\u00b0C) being hit the worst. Both France and the UK declared the hottest day in May on record this week.<\/p>\n Even typically cooler regions like Oslo experienced temperatures climb up to 18\u00b0C, an additional 3\u00b0C from average temperatures for late May.<\/p>\n \u201cThis record-breaking heat has the fingerprints of climate change all over it,\u201d says Friederike Otto, a professor of Climate Science at Imperial College London. <\/p>\n \u201cTemperatures on this scale were once exceptional even at the height of summer. Seeing 35\u00b0C in the UK during spring is absolutely astonishing, but the science is very clear \u2013 climate change makes these heatwaves hotter, longer and far more frequent.\u201d<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s heatwave a \u2018brutal reminder\u2019 of climate change<\/p>\n Simon Stiell, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), describes the unprecedented heatwave<\/a> as a \u201cbrutal reminder of the spiralling impacts of the climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n He argues the main culprit is the world\u2019s addiction to burning coal, oil and gas, as well as destroying vital carbon sinks like forests. The UN says that fossil fuels are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for around 68 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions.<\/p>\n As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun\u2019s heat \u2013 driving up temperatures and changing weather patterns. <\/p>\n \u201cThis climate-driven heatwave is a double-jeopardy, at a time when the latest war in the Middle East is showing the soaring costs of depending on fossil-fuel imports,\u201d Stiell adds. <\/p>\n \u201cBut the solutions are just as clear: a faster shift to clean power, which is now cheaper than fossil fuels, and faster to produce, and hence is mission-critical for energy affordability and nations\u2019 economic security.\u201d<\/p>\n EU renewables outperform fossil fuels<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s renewables have already proven to cushion households from Iran\u2019s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital fossil fuel chokepoint that usually carries around one-fifth of global oil supplies. <\/p>\n Solar alone saved Europe a staggering \u20ac3 billion in March by lowering demand for gas imports<\/a>, according to an analysis by SolarPower Europe. The report states that if gas prices remain high, Europe\u2019s savings could reach as much as \u20ac67.5 billion by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n Last year, wind and solar generated more EU electricity than fossil fuels for the first time ever, despite a drop in hydropower and a slight rise in gas. A report from energy think tank Ember found that wind and solar accounted for 30 per cent of the EU\u2019s electricity mix in 2025, overtaking fossil fuels<\/a> by just one per cent. <\/p>\n The boom in renewables is helping drive down emissions<\/a>, with some of the world\u2019s top climate scientists now believing that a previously projected 4.5\u00b0C rise in air temperature by 2100 is no longer plausible.<\/p>\n Is Europe\u2019s renewables boom enough?<\/p>\n