Topic:
Country: United Kingdom
Delegate Name: Carly Clos
Country: United Kingdom
Committee: UNDP
Topic: Fire Prevention and Response
Delegate: Carly Clos
School: Williamston High School
Wildfires and uncontrolled burning have been on the rise in several parts of the world over the previous year. Human fatalities, devastation of houses and infrastructure, evacuation expenses, and poor effects on mental and physical health are among societal consequences of flames. Smoke and contaminants from uncontrolled fires cause greater respiratory sickness in persons who live in the impacted region. Fires may contaminate the air and water, hasten climate change, and devastate wildlife habitats. To successfully prevent and respond to fires, the reasons of the recent increase in fires must be addressed; climate change and human activity are two of the many contributions to the increased magnitude and severity of fires in recent years. The consequences of climate change provide ideal circumstances for fires to burn; global climate trends forecast longer dry seasons, more droughts, and a rise in aridity, which leads to drier vegetation and a longer fire season.
Days with “exceptional danger” of wildfires will become more frequent across the UK by 2080, while those with a “very high” risk of wildfires may increase dramatically, especially in usually wetter sections of the nation. Over an eight-year span (2010-2018), fire and rescue services in England responded to about 260,000 wildfire incidents (an average of about 32,000 incidents per annum). The fire that destroyed Grenfell Tower in June 2017 was one of the biggest recent tragedies in the United Kingdom. Seventy-two persons were killed. In England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 governs general fire safety. In Scotland, general fire safety regulations are addressed in Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, which is supplemented by the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
The government has revised the National Adaptation Program (NAP) and remains dedicated to addressing the consequences of climate change on the United Kingdom. This is exactly what the adaption strategy does. It offers to teach fire departments and land management in wildfire avoidance, to create a “forestland wildfire risk and fuel map,” and to improve wildfire forecast systems. The United Kingdom reinforces the notion of an EU Fire Safety Network. Among the national Fire Safety Networks goals in fire prevention are: community fire safety programs; fundamental facts in statistics and experiences; yearly fire status report; other occurrences and fire brigade involvement; and a functional European network among national fire authorities. To combat the growing problem of wildfires, the United Kingdom is advocating collaboration with Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Greece.
Sources:
https://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/civil_protection/civil/prote/pdfdocs/fire_prevention.pdf
https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-how-the-uk-plans-to-adapt-to-climate-change
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40301289
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fire-safety-bill
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/779468/FC_Wildfire_Statistics_for_England_2009_10_to_2016_17.pdf
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/24/rising-risk-of-wildfires-across-uk-from-climate-crisis-scientists-warn
https://glica.org/glimun-2021-conference/glimun-2021-committees/fire-prevention-and-response/
