Australia softens climate change rhetoric as bushfires, and voters, rage 0 SHARES Share it! Now, with the country experiencing one of its worst ever bushfire seasons and facing criticism for his pro-coal policies, Morrison is acknowledging climate change is real. As bushfires tore through New South Wales state in December, Morrison avoided drawing a link between the unusually early and ferocious fire season and climate change, saying the time was not right for such discussions. “It’s much overdue for the government to seriously engage on climate change adaptation,” said Frank Jotzo, a professor at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy. A poll from the Australia Institute on Wednesday showed the country’s bushfire crisis has intensified concerns about climate change with almost seven in 10 Australians wanting the government to lead on climate action.

Source: Manila Bulletin January 15, 2020 06:06 UTC