‘This is arson’ – Group reacts as wildfires engulf North America – EnviroNews

– Advertisement –

North America is enduring an intense wildfire season, with new fires sparking and existing ones merging into larger, faster-moving blazes. Thousands have been forced to evacuate as fires rage across British Columbia in Canada, and California and Nevada in the United States, with local authorities declaring a state of emergency.

North America’s 2026 wildfire season has been unusually severe, with the U.S. surpassing 3.6 million acres burned by mid‑July and Canada experiencing about 3,500 fires burning 2.3 million acres.

Climate campaigners in Canada and the US said that such extreme wildfires could have been prevented if politicians had taken the climate crisis – and the role of fossil fuels in driving it – seriously. Hotter weather caused by climate change dries out vegetation and soil, creating exactly the conditions for wildfires to burn.

Meanwhile, fossil fuel companies are cashing in. Canadian oil and gas companies just reported profits up by 144% from last year, with total profits expected to hit as much as $100 billion this year. In the US, Exxon and Chevron reported combined profits of more than $26 billion during the second quarter of 2026.

Atiya Jaffar, Canada Country Manager at 350.org, said: “My home province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency due to over 100 climate-driven wildfires that are blazing through the entire province. What’s happening now is part of a frightening pattern of severe fire seasons that have only intensified in the last decade. Each season brings new horrors, but the root cause is always the same – fossil fuels.

“The catastrophe unfolding today can be characterized as arson. The arsonists are the fossil fuel companies that knowingly lit a match to our climate for their own profit. And politicians like Prime Minister Mark Carney are pouring fuel on the fire by promoting fossil fuel expansion and failing to hold the oil and gas industry accountable. We call on Members of Parliament to introduce a tax on fossil fuel profits. This is not a radical proposal. It’s a popular and common sense policy to address both the climate emergency and the cost of living crisis.”

Polling shows that a majority of Canadians support the idea of an oil and gas excess profits tax. 350.org Canada said that imposing a polluters tax is the first step that the government can take towards a global fossil fuel phase out and the transition towards safer and more affordable renewable energy.

Candice Fortin, US Campaigns Manager at 350.org, said: “Many people in the US will never forget the catastrophic wildfires that broke out in 2025, devastating communities across Los Angeles. It’s difficult to put into words the destruction and catastrophe they caused for so many people. This year, we’re watching it all play out again with wildfires that are not contained by borders. It’s an awful experience many of us are forced to share. Yet, as we speak, new gas and coal-fired power plants are being built across the US, largely to feed the surging electricity demand from data centres.

“People keep enduring the costs of extreme weather and higher energy bills, while polluters keep profiting. The same culprits keep getting away with it as our governments fail to take action.”