Taming Wildfires in the Context of Climate Change
This report provides a global assessment and outlook on wildfire risk in the context of climate change. It discusses the drivers behind the growing incidence of extreme wildfires and the attribution effect of climate change. It outlines the environmental, social and economic impacts of wildfires by illustrating the losses and costs observed during recent extreme wildfire events. Building on this, the report presents the findings of a cross-country comparative analysis of how countries’ policies and practices have evolved in recent years in light of observed and projected changes in wildfire risk. The analysis draws on in-depth case studies conducted in Australia, Costa Rica, Greece, Portugal and the United States. The report underlines the urgent need for governments to scale up climate change adaptation efforts to limit future wildfire costs.
Foreword
Extreme wildfires have repeatedly made headlines in recent years. Fuelled by increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and extended drought periods, extreme wildfires are affecting more and more local communities and regional economies and threatening vulnerable ecosystems across the globe. The 2019-20 wildfires wreaked havoc in Australia, with environmental damages that may well last for decades. The 2018 Camp Fire became the deadliest in California’s history and caused economic costs amounting to USD 19 billion, without taking into account the indirect impacts. The consequences of wildfires also go beyond affected countries’ borders. Extreme wildfires in the Amazon region, such as those experienced in 2016, may trigger critical tipping points. These could result in abrupt shifts in vegetation cover, which in turn affect global carbon cycles.
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