Greg Mullins, Emergency Leaders for Climate Action
Gamaraygal Land | Words by Georgina Safe | Photos by Jo Yeldham
Greg Mullins is a former commissioner of Fire and Rescue New South Wales, a Climate Councillor with the Climate Council, and the founder of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action – Groundswell’s inaugural grant winners in January 2020. Here he reflects on 50 years of fire-fighting, the impact of climate change and his hopes for a better future for his grandchildren.
I fought my first fire at the age of 12 with Dad
It was October 2 in 1971. Dad was a firefighter with Terrey Hills RFS and we saw a huge column of smoke to the west of our house as a huge fire burnt from Bobbin Head through to Duffys Forest. Dad said ‘come on’ and off we went. It was coming up over the hill and the flames were twice as high as the telegraph poles. It was scary, but I was hooked.
The next year they let me join the bushfire brigade when I was 13. When I retired from Fire & Rescue NSW in 2017, I went straight back to being a volunteer firefighter.
“Mum was a real environmentalist. We went bushwalking all the time and organised bush regeneration groups. She knew the botanical names and the common names for every plant, flower and tree and the Aboriginal history of the area.”
Environmentalism is in my blood
Mum was a real environmentalist. We went bushwalking all the time and organised bush regeneration groups. She knew the botanical names and the common names for every plant, flower and tree and the Aboriginal history of the area. Dad had a lot of bush-craft skills through firefighting so it was always my happy place out in the bush. Our local area was originally semi-rural, then when it opened up to residential in the 1960s people brought in their cats and other animals and a lot of the wildlife was killed and they cleared a lot of forest. I just saw on a small scale what was happening to the environment around the world, so I was very much an environmentalist from day one.
The impact of climate change is undeniable
Global warming caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas is a horrific issue that must be addressed urgently. Wildfires are getting worse around the world because it’s hotter and drier and fire seasons last months longer than they did in the 20th century. Weather extremes are beyond anything we saw in the 1970s, 80s or 90s and there were 11 times more homes burned in New South Wales in 2019-20 than there were in our previous worst fire seasons. Emergency services can’t cope with fires that burn in temperatures approaching 500, or with fires that form their own storms and weather systems.
“Emergency services can’t cope with fires that burn in temperatures approaching 500, or with fires that form their own storms and weather systems.”
Emergency Leaders for Climate Action
In early 2019 I founded Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, after a particularly bad year for fires in Tasmania, Queensland and New South Wales in 2018 and early 2019. It was very clear to me that we were heading for disaster, and I started talking to other experienced former fire and emergency chiefs who said they were seeing the same thing. I spoke to people at the Climate Council and said ‘I think a group of fire and emergency chiefs might be listened to by the government.’ The Climate Council agreed so I hit the phones and very quickly had 23 people on board. They were from all across the political spectrum but every single one of them was concerned about what they'd seen over their careers and that fires, storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts were just getting so much worse.
How ELCA works to fight climate change
We believe that there is an urgent need to address the underlying cause of extreme weather events, focusing especially on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We keep a close eye on current affairs and watch the science very closely when it comes to the latest research on bushfire behaviour, storms, floods and cyclones.
“The science is clear, simple, and cannot be disputed - intensifying extreme weather is being driven by the warming atmosphere and oceans, and since the year 2000 there has been a significant increase in the frequency and number of serious weather events.”
The science is clear, simple, and cannot be disputed - intensifying extreme weather is being driven by the warming atmosphere and oceans, and since the year 2000 there has been a significant increase in the frequency and number of serious weather events. Our group now counts over 30 former fire and emergency chiefs in our ranks and we have made repeated and detailed recommendations to the Federal Government on how to better prepare Australia for worsening bushfire danger. We are deeply concerned about the lack of climate action at a national level and feel obligated to speak out.
A blueprint for change
In 2020 I chaired The National Bushfire and Climate Summit, hosted by ELCA, to discuss how to protect Australia from escalating fire danger. We had experts from many sectors including farmers, doctors, economists, insurers, firefighters, defence and security experts, scientists, vets, Indigenous people, the social services sector, and bushfire survivors. The Summit culminated in the release of The Australian Bushfire and Climate Plan, which provided 165 practical recommendations about how to combat bushfires in Australia and improve Australia’s effective bushfire readiness, response, and recovery. But we have to go beyond fire prevention and the Federal Government must tackle the root cause of climate change by urgently phasing out fossil fuels to reach net zero emissions. ‘Adaptation’ is becoming a dangerous myth as temperatures continue to climb – we’ve missed that bus and need to stabilise, then reduce temperatures. We need to focus on mitigation.
“Adaptation is becoming a dangerous myth as temperatures continue to climb – we’ve missed that bus and need to stabilise, then reduce temperatures. We need to focus on mitigation.”
We've recently put out a climate pledge for all members of federal parliament, and we're asking them to commit to the key points and sign the pledge. Voters can also email their member of parliament demanding they sign the pledge and go on the record that they will stand up for strong climate action in Parliament. We’re also reaching out to other organisations including farmers for climate action and veterinarians for climate action, people at the top of their game in other fields, to form a broad coalition to move things forward.
“We can be an environmental powerhouse, but we need the drive and imagination to ensure not only our future prosperity, but the future of the planet.”
The change must start now
We need a massive change in our climate policies, and a government that grasps the economic opportunities in a cleaner future. We've got more wind, more sun than anyone, we've got the minerals to make batteries and we can make green aluminium and hydrogen. We can be an environmental powerhouse, but we need the drive and imagination to ensure not only our future prosperity, but the future of the planet. Australia should be setting the precedent internationally with environmental and climate change policies that encourage other countries and help them to become green and clean. We’ve punched above our weight internationally before, advocating for nuclear disarmament, human rights, and fighting in overseas wars. We should do this on climate change too.
Greg with Groundswell Co-founder Arielle Gamble
“It’s vital we get the message out there and give people an opportunity to become involved and to help. ”
A greener future for my grandchildren
I want a safer world, because I don’t want my grandkids to have to live in a frightening, dangerous future. We must take action now and refuse to take no for an answer from the people we pay to represent us in Canberra. It’s vital we get the message out there and give people an opportunity to become involved and to help. We’re all in this together, and together we can create powerful change and safeguard our future.
Firestorm by Greg Mullins
Combining thrilling stories of what it’s like to be on the front line of Australia’s first giga-fire with the hard truths of human-caused climate change, Firestorm is a compelling account of raging fire, political evasion, settled science, and one man’s courageous, urgent call to action for all Australians. A must read.
Emergency Leaders for Climate Action received Groundswell’s inaugural $50,000 grant for climate action January 2020. Learn more about our grantmaking here.
Join Groundswell
