Wildfires. Tired of them yet? I am just back from a holiday in Spain, where they raged for days near Madrid, and across the border in France. Here in the UK there have been a feature of this heat-ravaged summer, and leading to loss of farmland and vital nature reserves, burned out homes, and evacuated neighbourhoods.
So how do wildfires link to the climate emergency – and what is ours to do about it?
Wildfires and climate change
According to NASA, Earth’s warming climate is amplifying wildland fire activity, particularly in temperate forests in the Western U.S. and boreal forests of North America and Russia. Extreme wildfire activity has more than doubled worldwide, with warmer night time temperatures allowing fire activity to persist from day to day.
As NASA say, ‘Fire is a natural part of many landscapes, and sometimes it is beneficial to forests and grassland ecosystems that have evolved with fire. Many different factors influence wildfire behavior, such as forest health, weather, topography, and forest management practices. A warming climate is increasing some types of fire activity, leading to larger and more destructive fires, more intensive firefighting efforts, and widespread smoke.’
So wildfires are here to stay, for the foreseeable future.
A severe alert from the Government
Last week I attended the People’s Emergency Briefing, a film and discussion currently on tour across the UK.
Whilst waiting for the event to start this national wildfire alert popped up on my phone. Timing or what.
These alerts are very rare. Since their introduction in 2023, they have been used to warn the public of danger to life only 12 times, mainly for flooding, and the discovery of unexploded bombs from WWII.
A punch in the gut
So back to the emergency briefing. These events are based on the National Emergency Briefing given to MPs last winter by top scientists. You can find the full event here, with speeches from Professors of their subjects who break down, very clearly, why the climate emergency matters, and how it is inextricably linked with nature, health, national security and global justice.
Despite what the right-wing populists believe, the climate emergency is not about making more English sparkling wine. It’s about your future, and mine. And our children’s, and theirs.
👊 The timing of that severe alert felt like a punch in the gut.
As one of the professors put it, “The climate we experience today is the least extreme climate we’ll experience in our lifetimes” (Hayley Fowler FRS).
The emergency is now
The facts as laid out in the film are pretty stark, and hard to hear. Think 3000 deaths from the heatwave in summer in 2022, and 2800 and counting from this summer. Think destroyed harvests and risks to food supply – right now. Think global unrest from water and food shortages.
The film is also about the need for action, with superb examples of regenerative change in Denmark, China and the UK. The need for nature to be treated as Critical National Infrastructure. The need to stop investing in damaging activity including new fossil fuel extraction. The need to build the economy around the environment, not the other way around.
In discussion groups after the film, all were agreed on the need for these actions, as well as the change that can be made – and is being made – at the grassroots, community level.
In short, it’s an essential watch. The film is available for you to show at work, in school or college, or in your community – along with guidance on how to facilitate a discussion.
What can we do?
It might feel like we are helpless in the face of all this. But we are not. We can do things – and here is a short list of suggestions.
- Get up to speed. Watch the briefing online, and read the short and clear fact sheet. There is a showing of the briefing for a global audience being arranged by the Climate Coaching Alliance on 30 September.
- Spread the word. If you are in the UK, arrange a viewing of the briefing, or attend one near you, visit: https://lnkd.in/eYsSf5xq. If not, you can still watch the film and the full briefing on YouTube here.
- Connect with your community. Other coaches, your family and friends, and your neighbourhood. There are many inspirational examples of action that communities are taking to become resilient to climate change, and enhance nature.
- Understand your own impact. There are many tools for this, but one of the most powerful is to put your money in the right place, guided by this global banking assessment, or this UK ranking.
- Connect with nature. Find a way to be close to nature every day, noticing the beauty and appreciating what a nature-rich relationship means. Find ways to give back, through your garden or windowbox, local nature site, or considering voting for nature-positive policies and parties.
What do you think?
Here at The Natural Coaching Company we want to have an impact beyond our client’s own immediate needs. To work with ‘the system’ that they, and all life, depends on. Please tell us how you feel about the climate emergency, and your role.
We’d love to hear from you.