New study quantifies link between climate crisis, wildfires

WASHINGTON – In a first, US climate scientists have quantified the extent to which greenhouse gasses from the world's top fossil fuel companies have contributed to wildfires.

Their analysis, published Tuesday in Environmental Research Letters, found that carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the so-called "Big 88" firms were responsible for more than a third of the area scorched by forest blazes in western North America over the past 40 years.

First author Kristina Dahl, of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), told AFP wildfires in the western United

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States and southwestern Canada have been worsening for decades: they are burning more intensely, over longer seasons, covering larger areas and reaching higher elevations.

To date, the cost of rebuilding and increasing resilience has largely been footed by the general public, "so we wanted to better understand the role that fossil fuel industry emissions have had in altering the wildfire landscape," she said.

"We really wanted to put a spotlight on their role in that, so that they can be held accountable for their fair share of the cost."

- 'Atmospheric thirst' -

Using climate modeling, the team determined that emissions from the Big 88 – which includes ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron and Shell – were responsible for increasing global average temperatures by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 degrees Celsius) since the start of the 20th century, or roughly half of the observed warming.

For the purposes of this study, the authors included all emissions across the life cycle of fossil fuels – from extraction and flaring operations to refinement and use inside a vehicle, for example. AFP was signed by former presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev at a warmer point in relations and had the dual aims of limiting nuclear weapons and increasing transparency.

President Vladimir Putin, in a February address on the anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine, announced that Russia was suspending participation in the treaty although he stopped short of withdrawing from it.

President Joe Biden extended New START, which was set to expire, by five years immediately after entering office in 2021.

The previous US administration of Donald Trump had held off on the treaty, saying it was unfair by making no demands of China, whose nuclear arsenal is significantly smaller than those of Russia and the United States but is expected to grow quickly. AFP

New Zealand hostel fire kills at least 6 people

WELLINGTON – A fire ripped through a four-storey hostel in New Zealand's capital in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least six people as others fled for their lives, with some plucked from the roof.

Towering flames and thick smoke could be seen pouring from the top-floor windows of the Loafers Lodge hostel in central Wellington during the night, as 80 firefighters and 20 trucks battled the blaze.

Firefighters found six bodies inside the charred building, but a roof collapse on the top floor prevented them from searching all of the 92-room hostel, emergency services said.

Police said the final toll could not be confirmed until they had entered the building for a "methodical" examination once it was made safe, probably on Wednesday.

Six people were taken to hospital, one in serious condition, the city's ambulance service said. An additional 15 people were treated at the scene.

More than 50 people were rescued.

Firefighters used a ladder truck to save people trapped on the roof, said Fire and Emergency deputy national commander Brendan Nally.

"They plucked quite a few people off the top of the roof from an area directly above the fire," Nally told local media.

"There was no other way. Those people were going to perish, except for the intervention of our team. Multiple people are walking around because of it." There were no sprinklers in the hostel, Nally said. AFP