Statement to Davos Summit on Australian Bushfires, Health and Climate Change

The Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) and Global Health and Climate Alliance (GCHA) argue that the Australian bushfires demonstrate the critical link between climate change and public health emergencies. They urge the Australian government to recognize a climate emergency, integrate public health into national carbon budgets, and phase out fossil fuels to prevent more intense bushfire seasons.

• The 2019-2020 bushfires in South East Australia caused significant loss of life and environment, killing at least 28 people and an estimated 1.2 billion animals, while destroying over 2000 homes.
• Air pollution from the bushfires created a public health emergency, with air quality in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Canberra exceeding "hazardous" levels by a factor of 10 on several occasions.
• In New South Wales, the first week of December saw a roughly 25% increase in hospital emergency department presentations for respiratory problems and a 30% increase in ambulance callouts compared to the weekly average.
• The UK’s Met Office Hadley Centre warns that these bushfires will become the "new normal" if climate change continues unabated and leads to a 3 degrees temperature increase.
• The authors advocate for a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels, the development of a just transition to renewable energy, and the integration of public health into Australia's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

APA

Colasimone, L. (2020). Statement to Davos Summit on Australian Bushfires, Health and Climate Change. Global Climate and Health Alliance. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/news/statement-to-davos-summit-on-australian-bushfires-health-climate-change/

Chicago

Colasimone, Luisa. Statement to Davos Summit on Australian Bushfires, Health and Climate Change. Global Climate and Health Alliance, 2020. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/news/statement-to-davos-summit-on-australian-bushfires-health-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Colasimone |first1=Luisa |title=Statement to Davos Summit on Australian Bushfires, Health and Climate Change |publisher=Global Climate and Health Alliance |date=22 January 2020 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/news/statement-to-davos-summit-on-australian-bushfires-health-climate-change/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{colasimone2020statement, author = {Colasimone, Luisa}, title = {{Statement to Davos Summit on Australian Bushfires, Health and Climate Change}}, publisher = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/news/statement-to-davos-summit-on-australian-bushfires-health-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }