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CLIMATE CRISIS

‘Prepare for 3C rise’: Europe warned it must do more to deal with climate crisis

Countries in Europe need to prepare for a temperature rise of "at least 3C" and must do far more to step up readiness for the impact of global warming, the EU Commission has warned.

Published: 13 March 2024 10:11 CET
'Prepare for 3C rise': Europe warned it must do more to deal with climate crisis
Europe is set to see more flooding as temperatures rise with global warming. Picture shows flooding in northern France. Photo: Handout / Securite Civile / AFP

EU countries need to step up preparedness for global warming after 2023 burned its way into history books as the hottest year on record, European Commission officials said this week.

“Europe is the fastest warming continent since the 1980s — the warming here was about twice the global rate,” commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said.

He cited a first European climate risk assessment published Monday that said EU GDP could be reduced by around seven percent by the end of the century because of climate consequences.

Speaking at a news conference in Strasbourg, where the European Parliament was holding a plenary session, Sefcovic and EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra presented a document giving recommendations to EU member countries for action to take.

They included better cooperation; boosting data sharing for monitoring and to give businesses and policymakers better information to respond; using EU mechanisms for improved planning for civil protection and for critical infrastructure; and making budgeting for climate emergencies a mainstay.

Hoekstra pointed to recent disasters in the EU — wildfires in Greece, flooding in Slovenia and a storm in Scandinavia — to underline the urgency.

“These climate risks are claiming more and more lives and challenging our prosperity and economic competitiveness all across Europe,” he said.

“We need to prepare for a temperature rise of… at least three degrees (Celsius) in Europe — even if we manage to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees globally.”

Both officials stressed that the European Union was already addressing climate change through its Green Deal policies aiming for a carbon-neutral future in 2050.

Moves include cutting fossil fuel use, boosting renewables and readying the bloc’s population of 450 million for transport and energy changes.

On top of that, Sefcovic said, “we will be very much focusing on how to use our climate, diplomacy and outreach to all the countries in need of… help and assistance and technology-sharing… but also to the biggest polluters who could do more”.

“We are getting a lot of signals, too, that we need to act now. We are doing so and will be very active in convincing our partners across the globe to follow our example,” he said.

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SHOPPING

Number of Swedes buying second-hand has more than doubled in five years

In 2018, only 28 percent of Swedes bought second-hand clothes. Last year, that number increased to 75 percent, according to a new report by Swedish second-hand chain Myrorna, which described it as a “complete U-turn”. Why is this?

Published: 22 April 2024 13:37 CEST
Number of Swedes buying second-hand has more than doubled in five years

“Consumer attitudes and behaviours are changing,” consumer researcher Gabriella Wulff, who specialises in the fashion and textile industry, wrote in the report.

Swedish consumers’ attitudes towards second-hand items have changed drastically in the past five years. According to Myrorna, the second-hand market is currently worth more than ever at 20 billion kronor a year, and trade association Svensk Handel expects it to grow by 1.5 billion kronor this year alone.

“It’s no longer just a small number of people shopping second-hand as they can’t afford new clothing,” Wulff said. 

“Instead, we see that second hand has become a hype and that it’s linked to positive values.”

Younger people are more likely to buy clothes or other items second-hand than older people, whether that’s in a brick-and-mortar shop or online, and younger people were also more likely to sell their own items on the second-hand market, with older individuals more likely to donate items or clothing to second-hand shops, like Myrorna or similar shops like Stadsmissionen and Röda Korset. 

More than four in five of those interviewed – 86 percent – said that they sell or donate used items rather than throwing them away, with 72 percent of that group saying they prefer to donate rather than sell.

Why do Swedes buy second-hand?

The vast majority (91 percent) of people Myrorna interviewed – both men and women – said that the primary reason they buy second-hand items is because it’s cheaper than buying new, with the second most popular answer being the environmental benefit.

Almost three quarters of interviewees – 73 percent – were worried about the climate and the future of the planet, with 78 percent saying it is necessary to buy and use second-hand items in order to solve the climate crisis.

The third most popular answer differed between genders. Women said that they liked to buy second-hand as it’s a “fun way to shop”, while men appreciated the fact that they could find unique items.

“Many people like to buy second-hand, partly because it offers a different kind of experience than buying new,” consumer researcher Åsa Callmer, specialising in sustainable consumption, wrote in Myrorna’s report.

“This is partly because people can shop with a better conscience, as they’re not buying a new item of clothing or a new gadget which has been produced in conditions that hurt both people and the environment, and partly because they can buy clothes and items which have their own history.”

“Finding deals and combining these to create a personal style is completely different than buying newly-produced fast-fashion, and many second-hand consumers see it as an important part of their identity.”

What do they buy?

Items purchased in second-hand shops also differed between genders. The most popular items to buy second-hand for both genders were clothes, with 51 percent of women and 22 percent of men saying they bought these items second-hand.

The next most popular items for women were glass and porcelain (35 percent), children’s clothing (29 percent), furniture (28 percent), books and accessories (both 27 percent). Men, on the other hand, had furniture in second place (22 percent), followed by electronics and books (both 20 percent), glass and porcelain (15 percent) and tools (14 percent).

The least popular item for Swedes to buy second-hand was shoes, with over a third of interviewees saying they wouldn’t even consider doing so.

Do Swedes buy more second-hand than newly produced items?

No, at least not where clothes are concerned. On average, Swedes buy 50 new items of clothing per person per year, spending an average of 9,600 kronor a year. That compares to only 1,094 kronor on second-hand clothing – so only a tenth of a Swede’s clothing budget is used on second hand clothes.

“There’s a big step between starting to buy second-hand and adopting a circular lifestyle,” Callmer said. “In order to adopt a circular lifestyle, second-hand items need to replace purchases of newly produced items to a greater degree. Otherwise you’re just buying more items in total, and for a circular economy to be sustainable, the total number of items being produced and consumed needs to decrease.”

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