WASHINGTON, D.C. — The catastrophic, climate-fueled megafires in Australia, which have killed nearly 1 billion wild animals and threatened Australia’s indigenous communities, highlight the dire need for leaders in the United States and around the world to enact aggressive and innovative climate solutions.

“These devastating and heartbreaking megafires have threatened indigenous communities and killed nearly a billion wildlife in Australia. These tragedies may seem far removed from us, but they — like the wildfires across the West and the extreme hurricanes and flooding that we’ve seen in recent years — underscore how the climate crisis and wildlife crisis are closely intertwined,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “If we don’t act on climate, the consequences for people and wildlife alike will be increasingly devastating. These raging infernos should be a clarion call for our leaders in Washington and around the globe that we are running out of time to confront climate change and ensure the natural world as we know it, does not collapse.

“We must act swiftly based upon sound science and embrace the traditional environmental knowledge of the Aboriginal peoples to create a collaborative path forward rooted in thousands of years of harmony with the land.”