 Climate and fire experts agree that climate change is a factor known to result in increased fire frequency and intensity in south east Australia, and although it should not be considered as the sole cause of the 2019–20 Australian fires, climate change is considered very likely to have contributed to the unprecedented extent and severity of the fires.The crisis has led to calls for more action to combat climate change.In December 2019, Australia had been ranked worst in terms of policy, and sixth worst overall, out of 57 countries assessed on the Climate Change Performance Index, with the Morrison government labelled "an increasingly regressive force."