Brussels, 15 July 2026 – Brussels state secretary Ans Persoons has promised that there will be a permanent monument to commemorate the victims of the global climate crisis, in the city’s EU quarter. She made the promise at a ceremony on the EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis, organised by a coalition of civil society groups five years after the devastating 2021 European floods which killed at least 243 people in Europe, including at least 41 in Belgium.
Photos of the ceremony are free to use here
At the ceremony, survivors of the 2021 floods and of other climate disasters gave testimonies, and landscape architect Bas Smets presented his concept for the future monument. Activists built a symbolic sandbag barrier, and held a banner reading “Words don’t stop floods”, urging the politicians present to take action to prevent future climate tragedies, as well as commemorating people who have already died.
Greenpeace EU climate campaigner Thomas Gelin said: “It’s tragic that we need a monument like this, and with more fatal climate disasters every year it will sadly only become more relevant, until governments and the EU take the action needed to turn the tide. Many victims of floods, fires, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other climate disasters go uncounted every year. Honouring those people today is important, but we must also push politicians to prevent future deaths by cutting climate pollution and restoring the nature that can protect us.”
Founder and campaign lead of ‘Climate Justice for Rosa’, Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts, said: “Five years ago, as a fourteen-year-old, I was taken completely by surprise when the water came, tearing Rosa out of my arms and taking her life. I later learned that scientists had been warning about this exact scenario for more than forty years, yet those in power chose to ignore them. Today, with climate disasters multiplying globally, ignorance is no longer an excuse. With this monument, we are forcing power to look reality in the eye, ensuring that the victims are never forgotten and that leaders remember their ultimate duty: to protect us.”
The ceremony took place at Jardin de la Vallée de Maelbeek, just metres away from the European Commission and European Council headquarters, as Europe baked in a heatwave. This followed another heatwave just weeks ago that broke temperature records across the continent and coincided with an estimated 14,000 excess deaths in the hardest-hit countries.
The ceremony was initiated by Climate Justice for Rosa, and supported by Oxfam Belgium, Amnesty International, Klimaatcoalitie-Coalition Climat, Réseau Wallon de Lutte contre la Pauvreté and Greenpeace. Since 2023, 15 July has been designated as the EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis, the date chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the 2021 European floods.
