Experts are advocating the use of new strains of gene-edited crops that are capable of surviving the punishing heat waves and drought sweeping across Europe. However, the EU has been cautious about the use of GMOs in the past, fearing the effect such plants can have on ecosystems and population health. While the European Commission has recently hinted its support of gene-editing techniques, these technologies still elicit fierce opposition. But where critics lack firm scientific evidence to justify their gene editing fears, encouraging results are emerging from the other side of the aisle.

The EU can fuel the transition to climate-resilient farming through the combination of a science-based, innovative regulatory environment and robust funding and technical support schemes to assist farmers. Encouragingly, there are signs that the climate crisis is forcing the EU to see the light. EU agriculture ministers are already advocating for the bloc to relax rules on GMOs to allow the use of gene-editing in the combat against drought and declining soil fertility, while the European Commission has argued that existing EU gene-editing legislation is not keeping pace with scientific developments.

If the extreme weather of the past year has made one thing clear, it’s that the climate crisis is not going away.

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