OCT 2023: The view from the fireground: climate change is happening now

The science is clear: we need to act now to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions if we are to have a hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change.

Most people ‘get’ that climate change is real and is being driven by humans.

But we are also very good at hoping the problem will somehow be worked out by someone else or that it will happen some time in the future.

Recent research from Griffith University highlights the fact that many of us still think climate change is a problem that will impact on us later.

Griffith recently released its annual climate action survey, which explores what thousands of Australians think about climate change.

Most respondents – 57 per cent – believe Australia has started to feel the effects of climate change. But only 15 per cent say climate change is an extremely serious problem now.

The results expose a gap between how Australians perceive the threat, and the urgency expressed by the global scientific community.

Significantly for us, the research also shows that many people rely on personal experiences to understand how serious climate change is. They also rely on people they know, rather than scientists to gain an understanding of the world and what threats we face

That’s where firefighters come in: we have ‘skin in the game’ – we put ourselves on the line to defend our communities and we are respected for this. And we can see the reality of how climate change is impacting on fires right now. We see the longer seasons and more frequent fires. We know the impacts on crews as we struggle to support each other through the collective support of shared crews, aircraft and appliances as we pass through the stages of fire as they start in the north sometimes in winter, and head south through spring and summer.

The survey showed that 37% of respondents had directly experienced at least one extreme weather event or natural disaster in the final four months of last year. People are experiencing these events – and we can, as career or volunteer firefighters – help people understand the connection between climate change and worsening fire seasons – and the need to act to reduce emissions now.

If we speak up about our experiences, the reality of climate change, and the need to reduce emissions, we can influence people in our networks and communities.