Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.
EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Briefed” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms.
Find the full transcript below:
The world recorded its highest burned area ever for the period between January and April this year.
The area burned by wildfires literally doubled compared to the recent average for this period.
Can we live on a planet with more and more burned areas?
According to compiled data, wildfires broke records at the beginning of this year, across the world.
In Portugal alone, 107 fires have already been recorded. They have burned more than 9,000 hectares of land since January. This is almost the same amount of land burned during the whole year of 2014 in Portugal.
Around the world, the US, Greenland, and Australia are all experiencing record-high temperatures and droughts, which increase wildfire risks.
Experts say we may be heading toward an unprecedented year of global fires and record-breaking extreme weather events — all fueled by climate change.
While the EU has set the objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, the road to get there is still long and full of obstacles.
So, is there a way we can adapt to this new reality?
Wildfires have several direct consequences.
They kill trees that absorb carbon. And when trees burn, they release the carbon they have been storing, sometimes up to two tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tree.
According to my very own approximate estimates, the 150 million hectares burned worldwide since the beginning of this year may have released between 15 and 45 billion tonnes of CO2.
In the short term, wildfires therefore massively increase carbon emissions.
Another consequence is the death of tens of thousands of people every year — not only those caught in the fires, but also those who inhale toxic smoke.
These are tragic short-term consequences. Unfortunately, there are more.
Fires destroy ecosystems that sometimes never recover.
They also deprive us of carbon sinks that would absorb future emissions.
In the medium to long term, some burned forests can regrow naturally, creating new carbon sinks. But sometimes they cannot, because the land is too damaged.
What about human-led reforestation?
Humans can help reforest damaged areas — and they do.
In some heavily affected regions, fire-adapted trees are being replanted. These are species that can survive low- to moderate-intensity fires because they have characteristics that help them resist the fire, such as thick bark, high moisture content, or high canopies.
But unfortunately, reforestation is not the magical solution we might hope for.
First, because the number of hectares reforested each year is far lower than the number burned. Second, because reforestation rarely recreates the natural ecosystem that existed before.
Not to mention that trees need between 30 to 100 years to be fully mature and capture the most carbon dioxide.
Which leads me to this answer: No, we will not be able to adapt to wildfires in the long run. They must be prevented.
This is why major efforts are made to prevent fires or stop them as quickly as possible once they begin. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is regularly used for this purpose.
The objective is to stop fires from spreading as quickly as possible, with the help of other countries that can provide firefighters and equipment.
But again, while these efforts are necessary, they only limit the damage.
In the long run, the only real solution is to drastically reduce carbon emissions, slow climate change, and hope for fewer droughts.
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