Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said climate change isn’t linked to the country’s bushfires – which have now reached ‘catastrophic’ levels.
The PM was also slammed for being on vacation in Hawaii as Australia entered a week-long state of emergency, with 900 homes being destroyed and 12 people killed.
A plethora of publications have pointed out that a ‘hotter, drier climate will contribute to the country’s fires becoming more frequent and more intense’ – with the BBC stating Australia is now ‘running about 1C above the long-term average’.
‘Not credible’
According to the Telegraph, Morrison said: “There is no argument about the links between broader issues of global climate change and weather events around the world.
“But I’m sure people equally would acknowledge that the direct connection to any single fire event – it’s not a credible suggestion to make that link.”
He also added that there were ‘many other factors’ that contributed to the fires – resulting in being accused of ‘downplaying’ the climate crisis.
While former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Morrison needs to stop ‘acting like a marketing executive with a few clever lines and start acting like a prime minister’.