Fighting fire weather: Four steps to climate safety

Smoke-filled skies. Evacuated communities. Endangered species running for their lives.

As catastrophic wildfires blaze across Canada, we must confront the truth: climate change, driven by fossil fuels, is fuelling ever-more destructive wildfire seasons.

What scientists say about wildfires and climate

Right now 154 out-of-control wildfires are burning across Canada.¹ 5.1 million hectares of land has burnt across Canada so far this year.¹ A report prepared for the Court in the Mathur case, by Dr. Michael Flannigan — one of Canada’s foremost experts of forest fires — reveals that the area burned by wildfires in Canada has more than doubled since 1961.² The scientific community largely attributes that to human-induced climate change.

Already this year, early season wildfires have forced both Saskatchewan and Manitoba to declare province-wide states of emergency and evacuate more than 17,000 residents from at-risk Northern and First Nations communities. Analysis showed climate change made these wildfires at least five times more likely.³

Globally, climate change has increased “whiplash conditions” — rapid swings between dry and wet conditions that increase the risk and severity of wildfires — by 31 per cent to 66 per cent since the mid-20th Century.⁴ .

Earlier this year, a study published in Nature found human-driven climate change responsible for effectively all of the increase in “fire weather” over the last 50 years in Western North America.⁵

How climate denial and policy failure are fuelling the fire

These fires are not just acts of nature — they’re symptoms of political decisions and fossil fuel industry influence. Yet, even as fire seasons worsen, leaders and financial institutions continue to approve and fund new coal, oil, and gas projects.

In 2023, Canada’s fossil fuel exports produced over a billion tonnes of CO2 for the first time.⁶ These skyrocketing emissions will fuel future climate disasters.

And in the same year, wildfires in Canada released more carbon than annual fossil fuel emissions of nearly every country on Earth — except three.⁷ It’s a vicious cycle: climate change strengthens wildfires, which in turn supercharge global warming.

Scientists have been clear: to prevent climate disasters — like wildfires, floods, droughts, and storms — we must slash carbon emissions drastically and rapidly.

Steps Canada must take to reduce wildfires:

No new fossil fuel projects, phase out thermal coal: No new coal, oil, or gas developments to cap warming to as close to 1.5°C as soon as possible.

Hold banks and governments accountable: End subsidies and finance for fossil fuels. Aligning Canada’s financial system with Canada’s climate commitments is essential to our short- and long-term resilience.

Invest heavily in renewables: Kickstart the transition to zero-carbon energy (wind, solar, storage, geothermal) as soon as possible.

Enforce climate-responsible laws: Implement legal mandates for emissions reduction that apply to the corporate and financial sectors, complete with strict accountability measures.

A clear path forward

Scientific evidence shows that climate change, fuelled by burning coal, oil, and gas, is making wildfires bigger, more intense, and more frequent.

The solution is clear: slash emissions, stop new fossil fuel projects, bring the finance sector into the fold of climate solutions, and adopt robust legal frameworks that keep this transition on track. It’s time for political leaders to choose a safer, sustainable future over profits and for each of us to demand that change.

Join us in demanding that MPs take these climate-fuelled wildfires seriously and act now prevent fire weather.

Email your MP now.

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