25 deaths, devastated communities, an area the size of Belgium gone up in smoke, more than a billion animals burned, including some unique species in the world, 206 million tonnes of CO2 emitted, air quality in Canberra worse than in Chile: all MEPs were alarmed by the scale of the forest fire disaster on Monday 13 January during a debate on "Bush fires in Australia: a consequence of climate change".
The solidarity expressed with the Australians and the offer of assistance was unanimous. But MEPs from the ID and RCE groups were annoyed that this topical debate, which was held at the request of the Greens/EFA, was not limited to the assistance the EU could provide through its civil protection mechanism rather than being used as an opportunity to call on the Australian authorities to recognise the reality of climate change. Group ID's request to change the title of the debate was refused.
"We are sending a message of solidarity to Australia and we stand ready to help", said Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič. He recalled that the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, had informed the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, of the possibility for the EU to send firefighters (see EUROPE 12399/4). "But he has indicated that, for the time being, he does not need any further assistance", he said.
Believing that "the science is clear: climate change will accelerate the frequency and intensity of these disasters", Šefčovič called for all countries to work together to combat climate change, especially the G20 countries. He also expressed the Commission's desire to strengthen the long-standing partnership with Australia through the environment dialogue.
"Australia has experienced the hottest and driest summer (4° above average), soon it will be the norm", said Pär Holmgren (Greens/EFA).
According to Hildegard Bentele (German EPP) "diplomacy is not enough. Partners such as Australia must be convinced and helped”. “It was Australia and Brazil that put a spanner in the works at COP25", said Eleonora Evi (Non-attached, Italian).
Miriam Dalli (S&D, Malta) drew a parallel with Brazil. "We saw the Amazon burning. We have seen what happens when governments fail to make the link with climate change. We call on the Australian government to recognise climate change, turn its back on fossil fuels and join the Paris Accord", she said.
In the opinion of Ulrike Müller (Renew Europe, German), Australia must respect this agreement in view of its great potential for renewable energy. A Parliamentary delegation will visit the country in February "to have a frank dialogue and offer our help in overcoming a huge challenge". (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)