Jacques Chirac is no longer entirely right: our planet is burning and we are not looking away. But are we sure of what we see? The successive heatwaves and the fires ravaging the Gironde are not simple accidents of the weather, but the latest manifestations of climate change caused by human activities.
Which means, as IPCC scientists anticipated, that these situations will repeat themselves and intensify. In short, this summer, the future is taking hold. Fires in the future will therefore be more virulent and more frequent; the risk period will also be more extended, in spring and autumn; and the more numerous regions concerned. The models thus show that, after 2050, almost the entire territory will be as vulnerable as the Landes were at the beginning of the century.
Adapt our lifestyles
If the problem changes in nature, the solutions must also evolve. Our firefighting doctrine, based on rapid intervention and powerful mobilization of firefighters, is no longer enough. Let us agree: we must of course equip ourselves with the means to protect people and property threatened by the flames, and it is normal that the majority and the opposition have to be held accountable for the credits they have voted for or chosen not to vote for.
But to this first type of response, we must add two others, more structuring: adapting our societies and our lifestyles to new risks, by rethinking, for example, our relationship with the forest or by reinventing a fire prevention policy; and above all continue to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to slow down further warming and therefore the severity of future fires. It is the simultaneity of these responses, within a constrained timetable and a tight budget, which makes things complex.
