Originally published August 28, 2023 2:31 pm PDT
Greek officials have arrested 160 people for arson as the country faces one of the largest wildfire outbreaks in history.
QUICK FACTS:
- Greek officials recently arrested 160 people on arson charges for the wildfires that have scorched the country this summer.
- Previously, the media blamed the wildfires, which have forced numerous evacuations across the nation, on so-called “climate change,” which has replaced the “global cooling” narrative prevalent just a few decades ago.
- The European Union’s Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said that more than 180,400 acres burned in the port city of Alexandroupolis, making the blaze the largest wildfire ever recorded among European Union (EU) countries.
- Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis announced that 160 people had been arrested on arson charges, 42 of them being accused of intentional arson, while the remainder were blamed for causing fires through neglect.
- “You will not get away with it, we will find you, you will be held accountable,” Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias told the arsonists.
GREEK CLIMATE CRISIS AND PROTECTION MINISTER VASSILIS KIKILIAS TO THE ARSONISTS SETTING FIRES IN THE COUNTRY:
“You are committing a crime against the country,” Kikilias said. “Arsonist scum are setting fires that threaten forests, property, and, most of all, human lives.”
BACKGROUND:
- Earlier this month, Italian farmer’s union Coldiretti said he believes at least 60% of the country’s wildfires are due to farming accidents or arsonists, not climate change.
- Francesco Giardina of the Coldiretti said, “Spiteful or careless actions can result in serious, lasting hardship for the whole area,” explaining that it takes years for the land to recover after a devastating fire.
- According to the BBC, numerous historical sites have been charred, including a 13th-century church and century-old olive trees.
- The President of the Southern Italy region of Calabria, Roberto Occhiuto, said arsonists may have contributed up to 80% of the fires in the region.
- “Last year in Calabria we caught 22 arsonists and this year, too, we are finding several,” he said.
- Similarly, wildfires in Canada are not due to climate change, according to a report from Climate Realism.
- Leading analyst and commentator on environmental policy H. Sterling Burnett argued, “Neither the current wildfires in Canada, nor the heatwave in Texas, which has dissipated a bit—meaning temperatures are currently below the average for the date—can be attributed to long-term climate change.”
