Australia has now joined the hapless, yet growing, group of nations to have to foot the massive check of the climate change.
As of January 2020, record-high temperatures have caused over 8.4 hectares to be burnt across 3 states and territories - comparable to an area the size of Serbia, with these fires expected to ‘get worse’ over the coming days. Locally known as ‘bushfires’, these wildfires have killed an estimated 1 billion animals.
The size of these fires is, in fact, a rather good indication of the grave economic impact that the fires have done, and are predicted to do, to the Australian Economy.
A study from Moody’s Analytics, an American economics consulting firm, has predicted the damages of the fire so far exceed the 4.4 billion AUD worth of damage caused by the ‘Black Saturday’ Victorian fires in 2009, killing 173 people.
This damage will result from the obvious damage on the local farming industries, caused by the loss of crops and death of livestock, but also has hurt the tourism industry, with Moody Analytics economist Katrina Eli stating that ‘Visitor numbers are significantly down in summer hot spots as smoke haze and uncertainty about safety keep local and international travellers away’. The fires have also caused pollution problems, with Canberra, the nation’s capital and my home, recording air quality lower than the infamously polluted megalopolises of Dehli, Karachi and Beijing.
The Australian Government, in particular, the Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has taken heat (no pun intended) from the Australian public on his perceived unproductiveness, with his vacation to Hawaii during the crisis being heavily criticised, and so have his government’s rather relaxed approach to the question of climate change.
Having said that, the Australian government, wider population and the international community’s response have been exemplary, with the public raising over half a billion AUD. The economic damage will be curbed by insurance benefits, amounting to over 1 billion AUD by January 2020, and government programs such as low-interest loans to those affected.
With growth being lacklustre at best for Australia over the last few years, a predicted loss of 1% to GDP growth (ANZ) should prove to hurt the Australian economy dearly, with ANZ Chief Economist Shane Oliver stating that the fires “Could take us perilously close to zero or below that for a quarter”.
For a world that is still complacent, this bushfire should be a taken as a warning to the world for the severe threat posed by climate change to not just less fortunate nations, but to us all.