  Climate and environment

Water supplies in the coastal region around Almada in Portugal have been repeatedly disrupted for over a week – in the middle of the high season. The shortages are the result of rising resident and tourist numbers and an ageing infrastructure in which around a third of the water volume is lost through leaks. Portuguese media call for action.

Western Europe is currently in the grip of an unusually early heatwave. In France and the UK, meteorologists have recorded new record temperatures for the month of May, with highs of up to 36 degrees Celsius. In some parts of Spain, temperatures have soared to 40 degrees, and there have already been several heat-related deaths. Commentators point to past failures and warn of what lies ahead.

The 30th World Climate Conference (COP30) ended on Saturday in Belém, Brazil. A voluntary platform outside the COP committees to speed up progress on climate protection and a new rainforest protection fund were set up, but no consensus on an action plan was reached. Concrete targets for moving away from coal, oil and gas also failed to materialise. Europe's press takes stock.

The EU environment ministers have agreed to stick to the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 90 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2040. However, member states can use international carbon credits to account for up to five percent of their reduction targets. Europe's press sees this as a watering down of climate targets, and discusses the outcome with an eye to the COP30 World Climate Conference starting next week in Belém, Brazil.

The EU's climate policy is under pressure: several member states are opposing the bid to set specific climate targets for 2035 and 2040. As a result, the bloc failed to reach a deal at yesterday's summit. In the run-up to the meeting, no less than 79 industrial companies had lobbied against emissions certificates, which they argued were too expensive. Meanwhile, more than 2,000 academics have warned that scientific findings must not be ignored in the debate.

Spain is experiencing a summer of extremes: wildfires have burned through 350,000 hectares of land and forced thousands to flee their homes in rural areas, while city dwellers are enduring temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius. Commentators see the country experiencing the life-threatening consequences of the climate crisis and urge the political leadership to agree on a cross-party state pact.