European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says a scorching summer has shown the EU needs new tools to tackle climate change. During her State of the European Union address on Wednesday, von der Leyen proposed a European Heatwave Plan and the establishment of a firefighting fleet. She also highlighted that heatwaves across Europe have led to over 35,000 additional deaths and that rivers like the Danube and Rhine were drying up. A study by the World Weather Attribution group links these extreme conditions to climate change. She has commended emergency responders and urged them to design new capabilities to address climate instability.