WESTERN AUSTRALIA is battling severe bushfires just a year on from Australia’s Black Summer.

“Climate change is driving longer and more intense bushfires and West Australians are paying the price with blazes affecting their health, homes and livelihoods,” said Climate Council spokesperson, Professor Lesley Hughes.

“Last year was the second-warmest year on record for Western Australia, and in the past few months the southwest has received very little rainfall compared to the rest of the country. This is part of a long-term drying trend, with winter rainfall declining 20 percent since the 1970s,” she said.

“Climate change is pushing Western Australia, and the rest of Australia, into a future of unprecedented bushfire severity,” said Professor Hughes.

A new report from the Climate Council found that the cost of climate-driven extreme weather events in Australia has doubled since the 1970s, and by 2038, could cost the Australian economy as much as $100 billion every single year.

“Australians are paying a heavy price for the Federal Government’s climate inaction,” said Professor Hughes.

“The Federal Government 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,” she said.

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