Former fire chiefs demand action on climate change

AUSTRALIA faces a “nightmare scenario” of escalating and catastrophic natural disasters without urgent action on climate change, according to a group of 33 former fire and emergency services chiefs.

The group wants the bushfires royal commission to record as fact that climate change was the main driver of the weather conditions behind Australia’s bushfire season.

“We think that this is a great opportunity for an authoritative body to spell out loud and clear that if it wasn’t for climate change, we would not have faced the bushfires that we did,” former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins (pictured) said.

“The science is very clear that we would not have had weather conditions like we did if it wasn’t for a warming climate and the fires were driven by extreme weather.”

The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements starts hearings in Canberra today with a focus on the changing global climate and natural disaster risk.

The Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group said the evidence was irrefutable that climate change caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas “super-charged” the 2019-20 bushfire season.

The first witnesses today will be scientists talking about climate trends.