The melting clocks of Valencia

It is simply impossible to overlook the devastation in Valencia, Spain. Even if you were to try, the rivers of mud, the piles of cars, the rising number of victims, remain etched in your mind. The death toll has passed 200, the highest in any European country in half a century. For now. Because the continent has not managed to prepare itself for the onslaught of the climate crisis. So, as extreme weather events increase in frequency and impact the lives of more and more Europeans, averting a catastrophe is no longer an option. All we have left is efforts to reduce its consequences, which basically means, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put it, "civilian preparedness." Europe, she said, has before it the "dramatic reality of climate change. And we must prepare to deal with it, all across our Union, and with all tools at our disposal. We need to change our...