Bushfire Survivors return to COP to share the human impacts of climate change

October 27, 2022
Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action will again bring the human face of climate change impacts to a world stage, as the group attends COP27 in Egypt.

President Jo Dodds will be attending the two-week conference alongside global government officials and delegates, as well as representatives from academia, business, media, and climate organisations from around the world.

“Bushfire survivors have experienced first-hand the consequences of climate change,” Ms Dodds said. “I’ll be using my time at COP to make sure that policy makers remember that every degree of warming that we allow will have a direct impact on the number of lives lost due to climate change.”

The focus of this year’s conference will be on firming up previous climate financing commitments, as well developing a new funding scheme for addressing loss and damage from climate change. 

“At COP, I’ll be calling for the full damage done to people and their communities by climate change to be accounted for,” Ms Dodds said. “I’ll be sharing the stories of what bushfire survivors have already lost, as well as what so many of us stand to lose – loved ones, our health, workplaces, vital infrastructure, and most importantly, our sense of safety.

“I hope that by sharing these stories on a world stage, policymakers will clearly see the impacts of climate change are already upon us, and they must act quickly to reduce emissions drastically this decade – every second counts. Communities are coming together with a great sense of purpose now.”

Ms Dodds attended COP26 in Glasgow last year, where she made global headlines sharing the stories of Australian bushfire survivors.

For more information or interviews: Emily Watkins 0420 622 408 or emily.watkins@climatemediacentre.org.au. 

Jo Dodds is available for limited interviews while travelling and at COP, and other bushfire survivors and BSCA spokespeople are available from Australia.

Note to editors:
Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action (BSCA) is a non-partisan, community organisation made up of bushfire survivors, firefighters and local councillors, working together to call on our leaders to take action on climate change. BSCA formed shortly after the Tathra and District fire in March 2018, and its founding members were all impacted by bushfires, including the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20, Blue Mountains in 2013, Black Saturday in 2009 and Canberra in 2003.