Belgium faces significant economic, health, and national security threats from climate change, per Cerac’s Belgian Climate Risk Assessment, which urges urgent nationwide adaptation.

Cerac’s Centre d’analyse des risques du changement climatique released Belgium’s first national risk assessment, highlighting inadequate preparation for current and future climate risks.

The overarching message is that climate disasters are increasingly likely, requiring Belgium to shift its risk-response mindset and implement systemic adaptation to protect the economy and security.

Vulnerable groups—including the elderly, low-income individuals, farmers, and urban residents—will bear the brunt first, with long-term impacts cascading across all sectors.

Identified vulnerable groups point to widespread societal impacts as temperatures rise and extreme weather becomes more frequent.

Experts call for urgent strengthening of adaptation policies across health, soil, food security, and insurance, plus a clearer, more effective, and coordinated governance framework.

Climate change could undermine the insurance market as claims rise and reinsurers withdraw, potentially making coverage unaffordable or inaccessible for households and businesses.

Economic impact could be severe: if policies remain unchanged, public debt could grow by about 15% by 2050, with potential fiscal adjustments around 1.4% of GDP, and past flood damages show vulnerability.

Critical sectors—chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, and tourism—face risks from water scarcity, with annual agricultural losses potentially in the tens of millions of euros.

Overall, climate change is a cross-sectoral threat requiring a consistent nationwide adaptation policy and a shift in national security thinking toward prevention, resilience, and cross-cutting risks.

Adaptation is urgent and must be treated as a national-security issue, with consistent policy to bolster resilience across society.

Findings echo European warnings about Belgium’s climate readiness, underscoring the need for a stronger national adaptation vision and governance.