Europe space chief warns over political wavering on climate

FILE PHOTO: A firefighter works in the aftermath of a wildfire in Proenca-a-Nova, Portugal, August 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File photo

PARIS (Reuters) - Europe's top space official has urged wavering politicians not to abandon European leadership in combating climate change, saying record heatwaves and vegetation fires provide "really alarming" evidence of the pace of global warming.

"It is clear that climate change is very visible and is really causing enormous changes to our planet," Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency and a leading expert on environmental observation, told Reuters.