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Bushfire royal commission’s final report issues warning to Australia over climate change, ABC News, By national science, technology and environment reporter Michael Slezak, 1 Nov 20, 
  The bushfire royal commission’s final report is a stark warning of a future marked by extreme weather impacts of climate change.The commissioners describe their task at the very top of the report as “looking to the future”. And they are very clear about what that means.

“Extreme weather has already become more frequent and intense because of climate change; further global warming over the next 20 to 30 years is inevitable,” they say.

And as for what that means for fire regimes, they don’t mince their words.

“Catastrophic fire conditions may render traditional bushfire prediction models and firefighting techniques less effective,” they say.

The report notes there’s essentially nothing we can do about “locked in” warming set to occur over the next two decades.

But what happens after that is up to us. Warming “beyond the next 20 to 30 years is largely dependent on the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions”, it says.

The commissioners also highlight evidence that avoiding or mitigating risks is much more cost effective than responding to disasters after they happen — an approach they unequivocally state is not adequate.

“We need to do much more than put out fires. A resilient nation will seek to mitigate the risk of disasters through a wide range of measures, and it will attend to all of the complex and sometimes long-term consequences,” they say.

Many commentators, including former fire chiefs, cross bench politicians and conservation groups, have argued the implication from the findings is clear: that greenhouse gas emissions must be quickly reduced to net zero.

But of the report’s 80 recommendations, the commissioners do not make any aimed at trying to stop global warming.

Their only climate-related recommendation calls for climate models to be created that can provide projections for smaller geographical areas — making them more useful for local disaster preparedness.

Arguably, making recommendations about Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions or trajectory was outside the inquiry’s terms of reference.

But that hasn’t stopped others drawing their own conclusions.

“The Bushfire Royal Commission has laid out the facts in no uncertain terms: climate change drove the Black Summer bushfires, and climate change is pushing us into a future of unprecedented bushfire severity,” said Greg Mullins, former commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW and founder of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action.

“The Federal Government absolutely must act on the root cause of worsening bushfires in Australia, and take urgent steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This clearly means no new coal or gas, and a rapid transition to renewable energy.” ………..  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-31/bushfire-royal-commission-final-report-a-stark-warning/12835096