BELGRADE (Sputnik) — Nikolic said at the Climate Summit (COP21) in Paris that catastrophic floods, unseen in Serbia for 120 years, hit the country last year, putting 1.6 million lives at risk and leading to damages estimated at over one billion euro. The Balkan nation lost 5 billion euros (close to $5.3 bln) due to climate change since 2000, he added.
"The loss of property worth some 1.7 billion euro [almost $1.8 bln] has driven 125,000 people to the brink of poverty," the Serbian leader said.
The Paris climate talks, running from November 30 until December 11, are expected to end in a new agreement on how to address climate change, including ways to curb rising greenhouse gas emissions. Whether it will be legally binding remains a matter of intensive debate.