French minister estimates scorching summer will cost country €10B-€15B
France's ecological transition minister estimates this year's historically hot summer will cost the country between €10 billion and €15 billion, up to 0.5 percent of GDP, with wildfires and agricultural losses among the biggest factors.
France's Minister for Ecological Transition, Monique Barbut, has estimated that the country's unusually hot summer will end up costing between €10 billion and €15 billion, equivalent to as much as 0.5 percent of national GDP.
Barbut cautioned that the figure is a preliminary estimate that should be treated with great caution. It is based on an extrapolation of heat-related cost data compiled in previous years by Insee, France's official statistics agency.
Costs could still rise
The minister warned the total could increase further, as temperatures in many French regions remain well above seasonal averages. As of mid-July, 85 percent of the country was already under drought warnings.
According to Barbut, the largest contributors to the estimated costs were recent wildfires and a decline in agricultural output. She added that such losses are expected to keep growing in the future unless governments adopt policies to curb the impacts of climate change.
