Timothy Fridtjof Flannery is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, and public scientist. He has discovered more than 30 mammal species. He served as the Chief Commissioner of the Climate Commission, a Federal Government body providing information on climate change to the Australian public before the Commission was abolished by the Abbott Government as its first act of government. On 23 September 2013, Flannery announced that he would join other sacked commissioners to form the independent Climate Council, that would be funded entirely by the community, and continue to provide independent climate science to the Australian public.
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales.
The New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), a former division of the Government of New South Wales between April 2011 and July 2019, was responsible for the care and protection of the environment and heritage, which includes the natural environment, Aboriginal country, culture and heritage, and built heritage in New South Wales, Australia. Until its abolition in 2019, the OEH supported the community, business and government in protecting, strengthening and making the most of a healthy environment and economy within the state. The OEH was part of the Department of Planning and Environment cluster and managed national parks and reserves.
Fire and Rescue New South Wales, an agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia, is responsible for firefighting, rescue and HazMat services in the major cities, metropolitan areas and towns across New South Wales. Fire and Rescue NSW is the fourth largest urban fire service in the world, with over 6,800 firefighters serving at 335 fire stations throughout the state, supported by 465 administrative and trades staff and 5,700 community fire unit volunteers. FRNSW are also the busiest fire service in Australia, attending over 124,000 incidents a year.
Philip Christian Koperberg, is the Chairman of the New South Wales Emergency Management Committee, responsible for advising the New South Wales government on emergency response strategies, since 2011.
Climate change in Australia has been a critical issue since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods and longer fire seasons because of climate change. Since the beginning of the 20th century Australia has experienced an increase of over 1.4 °C in average annual temperatures, with warming occurring at twice the rate over the past 50 years as in the previous 50 years. Recent climate events such as extremely high temperatures and widespread drought have focused government and public attention on the effects of climate change in Australia. Rainfall in southwestern Australia has decreased by 10–20% since the 1970s, while southeastern Australia has also experienced a moderate decline since the 1990s. Rainfall is expected to become heavier and more infrequent, as well as more common in summer rather than in winter. Water sources in the southeastern areas of Australia have depleted due to increasing population in urban areas coupled with persistent prolonged drought.
Climate crisis is a term describing global warming and climate change, and their consequences.
Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia totalled 533 million tonnes CO2-equivalent based on Greenhouse Gas national inventory report data for 2019; representing per capita CO2e emissions of 21 tons, three times the global average. Coal was responsible for 30% of emissions. National Greenhouse Gas Inventory estimates for the year to March 2021 were 494.2 million tonnes, which is 27.8 million tonnes, or 5.3%, lower than the previous year. It is 20.8% lower than in 2005. According to the government, the result reflects the decrease in transport emissions due to COVID-19 restrictions, reduced fugitive emissions, and reductions in emissions from electricity. There were however increased emissions from the land and agriculture sectors.
Bushfires in Australia are a widespread and regular occurrence that have contributed significantly to shaping the nature of the continent over millions of years. Eastern Australia is one of the most fire-prone regions of the world, and its predominant eucalyptus forests have evolved to thrive on the phenomenon of bushfire. However, the fires can cause significant property damage and loss of both human and animal life. Bushfires have killed approximately 800 people in Australia since 1851, and billions of animals.
The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission is an Australian Royal Commission that concluded on 31 July 2010. It investigated the nature of circumstances surrounding the Black Saturday bushfires.
David Andrew Elliott is an Australian politician. Elliott has served as the New South Wales Minister for Transport and the Minister for Veterans in the Perrottet ministry since 21 December 2021. Elliott is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Baulkham Hills for the Liberal Party since 2011.
The Climate Council is Australia's leading climate change communications non-profit organisation formed to provide independent, authoritative information on climate change and its solutions to the Australian public. It advocates reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It was created by former members of the Climate Commission after it was abolished by the Australian federal government. It is funded by donations from the public.
The 2013 New South Wales bushfires were a series of bushfires in Australia across the state of New South Wales primarily starting, or becoming notable, on 13 October 2013; followed by the worst of the fires beginning in the Greater Blue Mountains Area on 16 and 17 October 2013.
The climate movement is the collective of nongovernmental organizations engaged in activism related to the issues of climate change. It is a subset of the broader environmental movement, but some regard it as a new social movement itself given its scope, strength, and activities.
Brandalism is an anti-advertising movement that was founded during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It is a form of creative activism that uses subvertising to alter and critique corporate advertising by creating parodies or spoofs to replace ads in public areas. The art is typically intended to draw attention to political and social issues such as consumerism and the environment. Advertisements produced by the Brandalism movement are silk screen printed artworks, and may take the form of a new image, or a satirical alteration to an existing image, icon or logo. The advertisements are often pasted over billboards, or propped under the glass of roadside advertising spaces.
The phrase "thoughts and prayers" is often used by officials and celebrities in the United States as a condolence after a tragic event, such as a deadly natural disaster or mass shooting. The phrase has received criticism for its repeated usage in the context of gun violence or terrorism, with critics claiming "thoughts and prayers" are offered as substitutes for action such as gun control or counter-terrorism.
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from 31 October to 13 November 2021. The president of the conference was UK cabinet minister Alok Sharma. Delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the third meeting of the parties to the 2015 Paris Agreement, and the 16th meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP16).
The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, colloquially known as the Black Summer, was a period of bushfires in many parts of Australia, which, due to its unusual intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, is considered a megafire.
The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, also referred to as the Bushfires Royal Commission, was a royal commission established in 2020 by the Australian government to inquire into and report upon natural disaster management coordination as it related to the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. The Commission was charged with the responsibility of examining the coordination, preparedness for, response to and recovery from disasters, as well as improving resilience and adapting to changing climatic conditions and mitigating the impact of natural disasters.
Greg Mullins is an Australian firefighter. He is a former Commissioner of Fire and Rescue New South Wales, a Climate Councillor with the Climate Council and a founding member of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action.
