Remembering Victims of Climate Disasters

Zack Polanski AM moved and Caroline Russell AM seconded the following motion:

“We on this Assembly wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and communities of the five people killed by Storm Bert in the UK. 

We also recognise the serious, and often irreparable, damage the heavy rainfall and flooding rivers have caused to hundreds of homes and businesses. Thousands of homes were also left without power. 

This Assembly recognises that the climate emergency means storms are becoming both more powerful and more frequent, with devastating consequences. This is borne out by the torrential rainfall in Valencia, Spain, in October 2024, one of the deadliest natural disasters in Spanish history, causing the deaths of 229 people. This rainfall followed record high temperatures in preceding summers that made the soil drier, reducing the ground's ability to soak up water, which facilitates flash flooding. 

We also acknowledge that hotter, drier summers are caused by climate breakdown, which come with associated health risks, especially for older and vulnerable people.  

This Assembly recognises the effects of climate change are impacting the whole world. In 2024 alone, there have been droughts in Zambia, heatwaves in Mali and flooding in Brazil with devastating consequences for countries in the global south. 

Meanwhile, the UK in September 2023 was hit by a record-breaking heatwave, lasting eight consecutive days. The Government's heat mortality monitoring report, from July 2024, showed there were 307 heat-associated deaths in London during the summer of 2023.   

We commend the campaign work of Climate Justice for Rosa, a movement founded by the grieving friends of a teenager who was killed in a climate-induced flood in 2021.   

The work of these young activists advocating for themselves and their futures at an international level persuaded the EU to honour the global victims of the climate crisis, with a day of remembrance held annually on 15 July. 

This Assembly will join the European Commission, Parliament, and Council in designating 15 July as a Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis, and urges the Mayor to do the same."

Following debate and upon being put to the vote, the motion was agreed with 12 votes in favour and 7 against.