Wildfire threat is a national emergency, say Scottish Greens
The devastating fires that have ravaged the Cairngorms and Arthur’s Seat underline the future Scotland faces unless we urgently adapt to the climate crisis, says Scottish Green MSP Ariane Burgess.
Ariane is urging the Scottish Government to treat wildfire risk as a national emergency and accelerate climate adaptation measures across Scotland’s most vulnerable regions.
Last year, the Highlands and Islands experienced the biggest wildfires ever recorded in Scotland. For the past week, firefighters have been tackling fires across the Cairngorms National Park.
The Scottish Government’s climate change plan, published this year, concluded that “the changing climate heightens the risk of wildfire across Scotland, as we have seen throughout recent years. Wildfires release carbon into the atmosphere, can damage or destroy sensitive and rare habitats, can kill species and pose a significant risk to people and property.”
Ariane said:
“When our national park has been burning for days and the hills overlooking our Parliament are in flames, it’s a sign that things have gone too far.
“It is also a glimpse of what is to come without immediate action. We cannot let the scenes of recent years become even more normalised.
“We should all be grateful to the brave firefighters who have worked around the clock to keep us safe. The best way to repay them is to ensure they have the resources they need, while taking meaningful action to reduce the risk of these fires happening in the first place.
“That means investing in wildfire prevention, improving early warning and response systems, helping communities prepare for extreme weather, and restoring peatlands, woodlands and other habitats that can make our landscapes more resilient.
“Local people have watched in devastation as some of our most iconic landscapes have been ravaged, with dry grass providing a tinderbox for the flames. Every fire leaves lasting trauma for communities and nature, and inflicts further damage on our environment.
“The threat is even higher in rural and island communities where our fire services are often more reliant on volunteers and our biodiversity can be particularly fragile.
“Scotland has the expertise and the tools to act. We need sustained investment in prevention and community resilience, urgent ecological restoration, and the support and resources our fire service needs.”
Ariane added:
“It is staggering to me that, even as we witness scenes like these, our governments are still considering throwing fuel on the fire through more oil and gas drilling, which will only make events like this more likely.
“It’s time to treat the wildfire risk as the national emergency it is — and to match that urgency with action.”