Wednesday October 9 2024
A NEW REPORT FROM EMERGENCY LEADERS FOR CLIMATE ACTION shows Queensland, Australia’s most disaster-prone state, is set to face increasingly severe fires, heatwaves and floods as climate change exposes the state to a different, dangerous mix of extreme weather.
The “State of Queensland: Disaster Ground Zero” report comes as parts of the state face storm warnings and the Spring 2024 Seasonal Bushfire Outlook shows a fire risk for large parts of far north Queensland, including for Cape York, Peninsula Areas and Tropical Coast, as well as central and southern areas, particularly the Darling Downs.
Former Queensland Fire Commissioner and founding member of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, Lee Johnson, said: “Queensland is known as a cyclone state, but it is increasingly a bushfire state as climate pollution fuels more extreme and erratic weather conditions.
“Not only are fires more dangerous in Queensland now, they’re also less predictable. Last year was the state’s most destructive fire season on record, with more than 1000 blazes burning in October. The town of Tara, Western Downs, lost 59 homes to fires, more than were lost in the whole state during the Black Summer bushfires.”
To protect more Queenslanders from worsening unnatural disasters, the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action report calls on the Queensland Government to:
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Stop approving new and expanded coal and gas projects
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Grow the state’s firefighting capacity, particularly volunteer firefighters
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Continue to help households and communities better prepare for future climate risks
“Every cut to climate pollution helps make Queensland safer for our children,” Lee Johnson said. “The Queensland Government has taken positive steps in shifting the state towards a future focussed on renewable energy and clean manufacturing, but it can’t have it both ways. The next Queensland Government must stop approving new coal and gas projects fuelling fires and floods that are destroying homes and threatening our communities and firefighters.”
“With the Queensland election campaign underway and the fire season already on our doorstep, now is the perfect time for all political parties to commit to cutting climate pollution and supporting communities facing unnatural disasters.”
A copy of the report is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y_E1Ad2_oz4YHVr-2y5TnUQaBs9l8Axo/view?usp=drive_link
ENDS
About us:
About Lee Johnson: Lee Johnson AFSM served as firefighter with Queensland Fire and Emergency Services from 1975 – 2015. During his career, he held all levels of responsibility from Firefighter to Commissioner. Lee served in a variety of locations in Queensland including Townsville, Gold Coast, Rockhampton, and Brisbane. Throughout this time Lee held several key positions at a national level including President of Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council (AFAC).
About Emergency Leaders for Climate Action: We are 38 former senior Australian fire and emergency service leaders who have observed how climate change is driving increasingly catastrophic extreme weather events that are putting lives, properties and livelihoods at greater risk and overwhelming our emergency services.
Contact details:
For interviews please contact Jacqui Street on 0498 188 528 / jacqui.street@climatecouncil.org.au