We must find unity through the smoke

Brave men and women are working around the clock to fight the fires ravaging our country. Courageous families are picking up the pieces and looking to rebuild. Community champions are expending time, energy and resources caring for livestock, wildlife and new friends they have made amid this crisis.

Out of the fire zone, divisive commentary about the role of climate change in these fires rages on and it is hurting us almost as much as the flames.

We need to invest in more research about how to fight and prevent bushfires.Credit: Getty Images

Climate change is real. The scale and severity of these bushfires are clear examples of how climate change is intensifying natural disasters. Climate change is presenting us with a huge new challenge, and as these bushfires have demonstrated, we are not yet equipped to handle it.

This month, Minderoo Foundation launched a fire fund with $70 million to focus on response, recovery and resilience. We are on the ground supporting communities and preparing the framework for our wildfire resilience program.

This effort will be led by Adrian Turner, an international executive and former chief executive of CSIRO’s Data61, the data and digital specialist arm of the science agency. The aim of this investment is to produce an Australian blueprint for fire resilience to be shared with the rest of the world.

We are working with governments and partners globally to scale up research and accelerate innovation to prevent, mitigate and defeat bushfires. We are convening experts, universities and research organisations to test innovations, apply research, demonstrate strategies and pilot new technology, including technology to help us map exactly where and when fires are likely to start.

Let’s explore ideas such as mega-drones that carry several tonnes of retardant and can target the exact position of a fire and extinguish it within minutes. This is the brave new world Australia must come to terms with to avoid this devastation again.

In recent media interviews about our fire fund, I observed that we need to continue to invest in scientific research. This investment is not to confirm the reality of climate change but to build our knowledge as to how we create more resilient communities to cope with the reality of a changed climate.

We must acknowledge the reality we face, use our common sense and deal with it in every way we can. For my part, my family and our Minderoo Foundation are helping fire-affected communities now and convening experts to help develop a plan for the future. I am championing the transition to a zero-carbon footprint in my businesses, including Fortescue Metals Group, where we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to transition from diesel and oil to solar and hydrogen.

After completing a four-year PhD in marine ecology, I am also alive to the devastating impact climate change is having on our oceans. Tomorrow, I will join fellow patrons of nature for the International Union for Conservation of Nature to discuss our environment, the climate challenge and the bushfires.

Australia needs to rethink how we manage our land and water, how we ensure the survival of our endangered species and even where and how we build our communities, given an increasingly hot and dry climate.

Building resilience against bushfires is a complex, multifaceted issue. Minderoo Foundation’s Wildfire Resilience program will reflect this and I urge all Australians to remain conscious of it as well.

Now is the time to bring our country together to begin the process of recovery and restoration. There can be no two sides on a warming planet - we are all in this together. Let's put the blame and division aside and discover the solutions we need.

I am asking purposeful, caring and knowledgeable institutions and individuals to join us in this vital work, for the sake of people who are frightened, vulnerable and determined this never occur again. We don’t need to turn the heat up on each other - the challenge we are facing is intense enough.

Andrew Forrest is chairman and co-founder of the Minderoo Foundation.