Global warming drives wildfire risk beyond Canada's forest management, says climate scientist

A climate scientist explains why blaming Canada for wildfire smoke misses the bigger picture. Human-caused climate change has made severe fire seasons like Canada's 2023 record more than five times as likely across nearly every Canadian ecozone. The article notes that the U.S. has emitted more cumulative fossil carbon dioxide than any other country, yet Trump withdrew from the Paris agreement and expanded fossil fuels. The piece argues that forest management alone cannot solve a planetary problem. Many large fires burn in remote boreal landscapes that are not manageable. Cultural and prescribed burning are useful adaptation tools but cannot replace emissions cuts. The author calls for geological net zero: cutting fossil carbon emissions and permanently storing residual emissions underground. No technological loophole allows unlimited continued emissions.