Australia is at risk of more tragedies such as the Victorian bushfires if the Federal Government does not reassess its approach to global warming, says the peak firefighters union.
United Firefighters Union of Australia national secretary Peter Marshall has written an open letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Victorian Premier John Brumby, on behalf of Australia's 13,000 firefighters.
He says the Government's own CSIRO report shows that under a high global warming scenario "catastrophic events are predicted to occur every year in Mildura and firefighters have been warned to expect up to a 230 per cent increase in extreme danger fire days in Bendigo" alone.
It also shows that in Canberra, where there were horrendous fires in 2003, fire services were being told to prepare for a 221 per cent rise in extreme fire days by 2050.
Mr Marshall says the Victorian fires are happening in the backdrop of the Federal Government global warming report that was released in 2007.
"These fires aren't happening by accidents ... it's highly likely we'll have similar events in other states and territories around Australia in 2010," he said.
"[The Government's own research shows] by 2020 it's going to be a regular occurrence. All the current thinking and science behind protecting communities has not built in the factor of this increase.
With one end of the country drowning in floodwaters and the other end being devastated by fires, the letter urges the Government to follow scientific advice and halve Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
"Without a massive turnaround in policies, aside from the tragic loss of life and property, we will be asking firefighters to put themselves at an unacceptable risk," says the letter.
United Firefighters Union of Australia national secretary Peter Marshall has written an open letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Victorian Premier John Brumby, on behalf of Australia's 13,000 firefighters.
He says the Government's own CSIRO report shows that under a high global warming scenario "catastrophic events are predicted to occur every year in Mildura and firefighters have been warned to expect up to a 230 per cent increase in extreme danger fire days in Bendigo" alone.
It also shows that in Canberra, where there were horrendous fires in 2003, fire services were being told to prepare for a 221 per cent rise in extreme fire days by 2050.
Mr Marshall says the Victorian fires are happening in the backdrop of the Federal Government global warming report that was released in 2007.
"These fires aren't happening by accidents ... it's highly likely we'll have similar events in other states and territories around Australia in 2010," he said.
"[The Government's own research shows] by 2020 it's going to be a regular occurrence. All the current thinking and science behind protecting communities has not built in the factor of this increase.
With one end of the country drowning in floodwaters and the other end being devastated by fires, the letter urges the Government to follow scientific advice and halve Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
"Without a massive turnaround in policies, aside from the tragic loss of life and property, we will be asking firefighters to put themselves at an unacceptable risk," says the letter.
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