"Presidents of Mediterranean States Demand Climate Crisis Action"

"ROME - Italy's president and his counterparts in five European countries have demanded urgent moves to tackle the "climate crisis" after scorching heatwaves, wildfires and flooding.

There are fears that such extreme summers in southern Europe will harm the tourist industry and also harvests, two mainstays of the economies of the region.

"Extreme natural phenomena are destroying the ecosystem and threatening our daily life, our way of life," said a statement signed by Italy's President Sergio Mattarella and his counterparts in Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Malta and Portugal."

Giselda Vagnoni, Angelo Amante, and Keith Weir report for Reuters August 3, 2023.