Read the Extreme Weather Heroes Project Overview
Find out more about Extreme Weather Heroes

Read a report on Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events
By P. Vellinga and W. J. van Verseveld

Read the IAG submission to Garnault Review
Financial Services for Managing Risk: Climate Change and Carbon Trading

Visit the Australian Emergency Services Volunteers Network website

Read an article by Red Cross volunteer Jelenko Dragisic

Read the Rural Fire Brigade Bulletin on climate change

Read an article on increasing role of the SES due to climate change

NSW community groups spotlight surf lifesavers on the frontline of climate impacts

Each time that extreme weather hits our shores, cities and properties, thousands of emergency volunteers are there to protect, comfort and rebuild our fragile lives.

Green Cross wants Australians to recognise our emergency service workers as Extreme Weather Heroes, bravely stepping up to the frontline in the fight against climate change. 

Australia currently has 500,000 emergency volunteers working for 18 different organisations.

As we prepare for the likely increase in natural disasters, we should support these fantastic organisations any way we can.

Green Cross will promote awareness of the contribution of emergency volunteers and encourage more people to get involved. We aim to draw attention to this vital sector because they will need better tools, training and recognition to do the job at hand.

Emergency volunteer organisations in Australia have identified some crucial areas where support is needed. The Australian Emergency Management Volunteer Forum (AEMVF) produced a report recently that made particular reference to training needs and also the need for much greater recognition of the contribution of volunteers in order to boost recruitment and satisfaction levels.

In response to this call for action Green Cross will:

• Create a public relations campaign that draws the link between concern about climate change and emergency volunteering
• Develop longer term training programs in partnership with emergency NGOs, government and academic institutions, with the aim of building the Asia Pacific region's center of excellence for emergency volunteer capacity building
• Run community events that draw attention to the great work of emergency volunteers
• Encourage post cyclone rebuilding efforts to adopt the most sustainable approaches available – building on the great work of Global Green, our US affiliate, who are rebuilding sustainable low income housing for Katrina victims in New Orleans.

Emergency volunteers are vital for community resilience and they are also on the ground to give the community first hand descriptions of the consequences of climate change.

They can make Australians see the effects of climate change in their own back yard, encourage adoption of energy saving building practices, and champion solutions to climate change such as renewable energy, public transport, and community education.

Green Cross will kick off its Extreme Weather Heroes program on the airwaves and on the ground in Brisbane, working with our partners with Brisbane City Council's CitySmart sustainability program. CitySmart's many community outreach programs will help Green Cross to deliver its message about Extreme Weather Heroes.

We will find ways to help the public, especially younger generations, to get a real life sense of how emergency volunteers support the community when extreme weather events hit home.

Join us at the June CitySmart Neighbourhood Fair where the Extreme Weather Heroes marquee will inspire the public to learn more about sea level rise, storm surges, floods and fires, and how these are all likely to rise according to the insurance industry and city emergency management officials. Meet emergency volunteers and learn about their tools and organisations.

Green Cross is working with some wonderful people in the Extreme Weather Heroes campaign, and we invite emergency volunteers inspired by environmental aims to join our efforts. 

Green Cross Advisory Panel member Jelenko Dragisic was the head of Southeast Queensland operations for the Red Cross for 12 years. He has written a feature article for Green Cross News which reveals deep personal links between victims of war and extreme weather.