On Saturday, there was a bit of grumbling at the end of the lake, when the authorities cancelled the various planned events, mainly linked to the big football shindig. In fact, there were storms, violent ones even. But nothing apocalyptic. However, the reproaches of an excess of precautions fell silent when the images arrived from Valais, Ticino, Valle d’Aosta. Four deaths, hundreds of millions of francs of damage – 200 for Valais alone, the canton estimates – floods in Chippis and in the Aigle region, landslides and certain localities cut off from the world…
These climatic events are not new, but they are occurring at increasingly frequent intervals. Morges has just undergone such a sequence. And, there too, the images were impressive. The multiplication of these extreme episodes must serve as a warning. These catastrophes are increasing under the effect of global warming.
Their cost is enormous. It must be compared with the investments needed to decarbonize our lifestyles. These sums may seem enormous, but inaction will have a much greater financial impact. The impasse is emerging: to what extent will insurance be able to cover these losses? In areas exposed to repeated flooding, the coverage of public buildings has become problematic.
If the course of events is not reversed, the impact of these phenomena will only get worse. As serious as these floods and landslides were, the current inertia, which seems to block the ambitious decisions imposed by the climate crisis, will have much more catastrophic effects. The precautionary principle calls for increased voluntarism in terms of changing our production methods. Listening to nature, hearing its warnings: the time has come to make fundamental choices. Time is running out. Soon, it will be too late, the solutions will be beyond our reach.
