A coalition of environmental, labor and health care groups has called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to classify extreme heat and wildfire smoke as “major disasters” and provide federal funding to states during these weather events.
The petition, The lawsuit, filed Monday by dozens of groups in several states, aims to help state and local governments struggling to recover economically from a surge in heatwaves and wildfire smoke caused by climate change.
“It is urgent that FEMA treat the intensifying heat waves and wildfire smoke as a major climate disaster,” said Jean Su, lead author of the petition and director of energy justice and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. In a statement. “It’s past time for FEMA to tackle the climate emergency head-on.”
If FEMA were to include extreme heat and wildfire smoke in its “major disaster” regulations, funding could be made available to state, local and tribal governments for community solar power and storage, cooling centers, air filtration systems and community recovery hubs, according to the petition.
Last year was the hottest on record, with average temperatures over land and ocean reaching 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed earlier this year.
Experts predict that extreme heat caused by climate change is likely to continue to some extent for the next few years.
The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group and lead author of the petition, National Weather Service statistics They found that heatstroke is the leading cause of disaster death in the United States, claiming more lives than hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods combined.
As for wildfires, the amount of wildfire smoke inhaled by the average American was the highest since 2006, the Center for Biological Diversity said.
The American Federation of Labor-CIO, one of the signatories to the petition, pointed to the need for more labor protections for workers called in to respond to these weather disasters.
“Too many workers are exposed to extreme heat and wildfire smoke at work without adequate safety measures in place. Not only do we need strong worker protection standards to meet the demands of a changing environment and intensifying climate hazards, we need the federal government to act now and commit resources,” AFL-CIO President Liz Schuler said in a statement.
The Hill has reached out to FEMA for further comment.
