Tuesday, March 1 2022. Bushfire Survivors across Australia are alarmed by warnings of increased days of extreme heat and bushfire risk in Working Group II’s contribution to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, which was released last night.
This report states that the picture is worsening, with the catastrophic ‘Black Summer’ fires just one example of what we will be facing with increasing frequency every year.
Communities across the country are already struggling under the burden of recovery and rebuilding after previous fires, whilst they face even more disasters, from fires in WA to flooding in northern regions of eastern Australia. The toll, particularly on mental health, is immense.
Jo Dodds, President of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action, says:
“My neighbours, who have nearly finished building their new home after losing everything in the Tathra District fire in 2018, are not celebrating moving in because they’re already dreading the next hot, windy day. The threat and the fear never goes away. Every time there’s a fire, even thousands of kilometres away, they are reliving their trauma.
“How is anyone expected to recover and get on with their lives when we learn from this latest report that the temperature is still rising? Heatwaves and smoke are actually killing people in our cities, while we’re dealing with fires and droughts that are destroying rural economies and the families who depend on them.
“The most infuriating aspect of this latest report is that while the world’s current emissions are putting us on track for 2C of climate heating, that’s the best case scenario. If the world was emitting the same level of greenhouse gases as Australia is, we’d be heading for 3C of heating – that’s just not something we can adapt to! We can’t build homes safe from that, or drought-proof our farmers against that.”
But the report does contain a positive – it confirms that we do, right now, have the chance to reduce the threat of bushfires and heatwaves. If we reduce our emissions NOW, we will reduce the fire and heat risks. But it’s a short time frame – ten years at most.
If we sit this out until 2049, like the Morrison government’s plan seems to suggest, it’s too late. Australia is incredibly well placed to seize the opportunities of renewable energy and move out of fossil fuels right now. That’s a win-win we can’t afford to miss out on.
Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action formed after the Tathra District fire in 2018. We raise the voices of people who are experiencing first hand the impacts of climate change. Our stories are powerful circuit-breakers, taking the politics out of the issue and focussing instead on the very real suffering of everyday Australians. Our stories matter because we matter. As parents, farmers, business owners, volunteers, community members and voters – we call for non-partisan action from all political leaders to reduce emissions and make communities safer. Join us here https://www.bushfiresurvivors.org/take-action
