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January 9, 2020

More Than 1 Billion Animals Killed in Climate-Fueled Wildfires in Australia
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In news on climate change, a new analysis from one of the world's
largest insurance companies says hurricanes, wildfires and floods cost
$150 billion globally in 2019 and that this figure is expected to
increase in the coming years. In Australia, the death toll from the
raging, climate-fueled wildfires has again risen - to 27 people and an
estimated 1 billion animals. This is Australian Prime Minister Scott
Morrison.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison: "There are 27 confirmed fatalities, and
there have been, on this morning's reports to us, 2,131 homes lost, but
I'm sure over the course of the day, as further damage assessments have
been undertaken, particularly in Victoria, these numbers continue to
sadly change, and they continue to escalate. Fire weather is increasing
in the south and east today, and it will spike along the east coast
tomorrow."

Prime Minister Morrison has opposed efforts to curb catastrophic climate
change, and he famously brought a lump of coal to the floor of
Parliament in 2017 to mock opposition lawmakers. Meanwhile, conservative
media mogul Rupert Murdoch's flagship newspaper, The Australian, has
repeatedly claimed that this year's fires are not worse than in years
past. In fact, scientists say this year's fire season has scorched more
of New South Wales than in the previous 15 years combined. His media
company, News Corp, has also spread misinformation that has inflated the
role of arsonists in the fires and has downplayed the role of climate
change.


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