BERLIN - (Xinhua) Damages caused by extreme weather have cost Germany 145 billion euros (146.5 billion US dollars) since 2000, according to a study published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action on Monday.

Most of the damage, worth 80 billion euros, occurred in the past four years, the study said. Disasters related to floods in July 2021, which destroyed entire villages and killed 186 people, accounted for half of the losses.

"The climate crisis is escalating around the world," said Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck, citing current droughts and bushfires in southern Europe and floods in Australia, Madagascar and Germany.

Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said the study was "a wake-up call that more crisis-prevention efforts are needed" to avoid further heavy losses globally and for the German economy.

While Germany aims to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 65 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels, the government last week postponed presenting concrete measures to achieve the national target.

Due to the imminent gas shortage caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Germany recently decided to restart some coal-fired power plants to ensure the security of electricity supply.

"This is an emergency, short-term measure that will not come at the expense of our climate goals," Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Petersburg Climate Dialogue on Monday, adding that "we should not now think of slipping into a global renaissance of fossil energy, coal in particular."

Schultz reaffirmed the commitment of major Western industrialized nations to provide $100 billion annually in climate finance in poor countries. Germany has announced a contribution of €6 billion by 2025 at the latest.