Point of view | Kai Lintunen: Smoke without borders – joint communication is Europe’s first line of defense against forest fires
As the world gathers at COP30 to tackle the wildfire crisis, Europe can lead by example by building a unified communications network to protect our shared air.
The urgency for unified action is reflected beyond Europe. At the COP30 climate summit, currently ongoing in Belem, Brasilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced the Declaration of Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Wildfire Resilience, endorsed by 50 countries and several international organizations. The declaration recognizes wildfires as one of the most destructive and visible manifestations of climate change, affecting nations in every region, regardless of wealth or geography. It also underlines a shared truth: no country can face the climate crisis alone.
European summers are also being darkened by the smoke from wildfires that drift across borders, from Greece to the Arctic Circle. The smog does not stop at customs – and neither do its consequences.
Our solutions must also transcend borders. To protect lives, economies and ecosystems, Europe must look beyond national measures and build a common international communication system that combines early warnings, information exchange and coordinated action.
Wildfires are no longer isolated national emergencies. They are cross-border crises that cause huge economic losses, health damage and disruption of livelihoods far from the areas where they ignite. Fields are covered in ash, supply chains are disrupted and hospitals are filled with patients with breathing difficulties.
The concern is not just European. In recent years, record-breaking wildfires in Canada have spread smoke thousands of kilometres across North America and even across the Atlantic. Wildfires in Russia’s Siberia have destroyed millions of hectares of boreal forest, darkening skies as far away as Alaska and China. Repeated peat and forest fires in Indonesia have filled cities in Southeast Asia with toxic smoke, cancelled flights and closed schools. These events demonstrate a stark truth: wildfire smoke knows no borders, and their effects spread across continents.
Wildfires highlight a fundamental truth: we share the air we breathe and we must also share the responsibility to protect it. No country can meet this challenge alone. The foundation of effective prevention and response is shared international communication – timely, reliable and transparent.
Early warning systems, shared data and rapid exchange of information save lives and livelihoods. Communication is not an add-on to crisis management, it is the first line of defense. Without it, even well-prepared nations can be caught off guard. Communication turns awareness into preparedness and preparedness into resilience. The complexity of forest fires is influenced by climate, ecosystems and human activity. This means that cooperation must be based on dialogue and a common strategy.
The Nordic countries are well placed to lead this effort. Advanced technology, strong governance and a tradition of cooperation make them natural experts in regional fire management and cross-sector communication. But leadership is also needed beyond the North.
The EU already has key tools in place, such as the EU Civil Protection System and the various Copernicus mechanisms, but these systems need deeper integration and a wider reach.
To support these systems, Europe needs to build continuous, practical direct communication links between Member States and neighbouring regions such as Russia, Eastern Europe and the Nordic countries. The network would enable real-time monitoring, shared early warnings and coordinated emergency response.
The costs of inaction are staggering. The economic impact of forest fires in Europe is in the billions each year – from destroyed forests and infrastructure to reduced agricultural yields, lost tourism and healthcare costs. Smoke does not stop at borders, nor does its impact on productivity and public health.
Health problems associated with forest fire smoke – from respiratory diseases to cardiovascular diseases – are on the rise, especially among vulnerable groups. For rural communities, fires mean not only the destruction of nature but also the loss of livelihoods as forests that once supported local economies are reduced to ashes.
Fire in itself is of course not a bad thing. It has long played a role in cooking, cleaning, agriculture and the regeneration of nature. Our job is not to eliminate it, but to manage it wisely – to understand where it belongs and to protect lives and landscapes where it does not. Integrated fire management combines prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. It must be a central part of European and global policies.
No country can face the climate crisis alone. As a concrete step towards cooperation on this issue, a global communication workshop of FAO’s regional Forest Communication Networks (FCNs) was held in Thailand just before COP30. Communication professionals, researchers and policymakers from all regions – including Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa – came together to harmonise messages on integrated fire management and fire resilience. Communication professionals stressed that effective communication is not secondary to climate action but central.
The FCN meeting in Thailand laid the foundation for a stronger global narrative by combining scientific insight with practical storytelling and policy dialogue – a narrative that does not treat forest fire management as a regional problem, but as a shared global responsibility. The conclusions reached were submitted to COP30. Joint communication strengthens both credibility and impact.