Recognise wildfire devastation for climate justice - experts

Recognising wildfire losses within the global Loss & Damage fund is essential to deliver justice and meaningful support for the communities most affected.

In a new comment piece published in Communications Earth & Environment, researchers argue that the growing threat of wildfires, amplified by climate change, is being overlooked in international climate policy, despite causing devastating impacts on vulnerable communities worldwide.

Fiona Spuler, who co-authored the comment from the University of Reading, said: “The communities hardest hit by climate-driven wildfires are often those least responsible for global emissions, yet they are left without meaningful support.

“Current funding prioritises fighting fires after they start, when we urgently need investment in prevention, preparation, and community-led management. Indigenous Peoples and local communities hold deep knowledge of effective fire management, but without proper resources and recognition, they cannot fully protect their land, lives or livelihoods.”

Bringing together science and indigenous communities

Many of the key findings shared in the comment are sourced from a multi-stakeholder workshop in Brasília in September 2025 whose organisation was co-led by Fiona Spuler. The workshop brought together local volunteer and community fire brigades, members of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, wildfire and climate scientists, policymakers, and climate finance experts to identify critical gaps in wildfire governance, funding mechanisms, and justice-oriented approaches to climate risk.

The workshop also highlighted the need for collaborative spaces for exchange between science, policy and local and Indigenous communities. One of the members of the community fire brigades commented at the end of the workshop: “I learned that there are people outside Brazil who view nature with affection, faith, and, above all, science. And that brought me more faith in humanity.”

The workshop also drew from findings of the second annual State of Wildfires report, an international study co-authored by Fiona Spuler and co-led by Douglas Kelley from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The report found that climate change has dramatically increased extreme fire weather by 30-70 times in the northeastern Amazon, leading to approximately four times more burned area than would have occurred without climate change. It also found that globally, fire seasons are lengthening globally and extreme events are intensifying, with impacts extending across Australia, Africa, Southern Europe, Canada and the United States, costing billions of dollars in damages and thousands of deaths from smoke exposure.

Sharing expertise at COP30

The Loss & Damage Fund, established at COP28 in Dubai, risks perpetuating blind spots in resource allocation without explicit recognition of wildfire impacts.The first call for proposals under the Fund for Responding to Loss & Damage will be launched at COP30 in Belem.

Findings from this workshop and the comment will be shared at two COP30 events by Douglas Kelley and Maria Barbosa, corresponding author of the comment and wildfire researcher from Brazil based at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, alongside policy makers and community members:

Wildfires: Science, Stories, and Strategies for Resilience in Amazonia

Date: 17 November 2025 12:30 – 14:00

UK Pavilion Event

How can we close the gaps between communities, practitioners, policymakers and scientists to both inform and ensure that advances in climate and fire attribution translate into effective action – all the way from financing to integrated fire management, in an era of climate-driven extreme wildfires?

Building Resilience through Integrated Fire Management: Policies, Early Warning & Safeguards

Date: 19 November 2025 13:15 – 14:45

Side Event Room 5

How new fire science can help society understand, anticipate, and respond to a world of climate-driven extreme wildfires.

Images: 

Top: a wildfire in Sao Jorge, Brazil (credit: Ana (Nani) Maria Vela from Fundacion Avina)

Middle: The Sao Jorge firefighting brigade with researchers. Fiona Spuler is bottom left. (credit: Ana (Nani) Maria Vela from Fundacion Avina)

Bottom: Fiona Spuler speaking at a multi-stakeholder wildfire research workshop in Brasilia in September 2025. 

Comment: M. da Veiga, R., F. Barbosa, M.L., Spuler, F.R. et al. Recognition of Loss & Damage from wildfires is key for climate justice. Commun Earth Environ6, 898 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02968-w