Bushfires and Climate Change

In the last decade, the incidence, severity and scale of bushfires has rapidly increased internationally. Australia is among the most fire-prone countries in the world.  In fact, bushfires increased in frequency by 40% in the five years to 2016.

This growth in bushfires reflects the international failure to adequately respond to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Australia in particular has one of the weakest targets amongst developed countries, despite its relative wealth and institutional capacity to respond.

The 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years. Scientific evidence unequivocally links human-caused climate change to the increasing risk of frequent and severe bushfires in the Australian landscape, with a rise in bushfires predicted a decade ago.

As of 22 January 2020, the 2019–2020 bushfires have emitted 400 megatonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equivalent to 75% of Australia’s average annual carbon emissions.

Read the story from, the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute by Associate Professor Janet Stanley - “Bushfires and Climate Change.”