Minister tells Guardian he is unsure of causes of crisis, saying he wants farmers to have tools to adapt to change

Australia’s minister responsible for drought and natural disasters, David Littleproud, has said that he doesn’t “know if climate change is manmade”.

Clarifying earlier comments that the question is “irrelevant” when considering the Coalition government’s response to intensifying bushfires, he told Guardian Australia he was unsure about the causes of the climate crisis but wanted to give the country the tools to adapt.

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The remarks by the minister for water resources, drought, natural disaster and emergency management are likely to anger political opponents, including the Greens who have targeted Littleproud and fellow members of the National party for refusing to acknowledge a link between human-induced climate change and bushfires.

Littleproud’s position was supported by the Nationals deputy leader, Bridget McKenzie, the minister for resources and northern Australia, Matt Canavan, and the environment minister, Sussan Ley, all of who denied knowledge of or downplayed the link.

Early spring bushfires in Queensland may go on for weeks, authorities said, while firefighters on Tuesday were battling more than 50 fires in New South Wales. The overall fire danger index has increased for most of southern Australia over the past 40 years and the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre says the trend is expected to continue.

Quick guide Climate change and bushfires Show Hide Does climate change cause bushfires? The link between rising greenhouse gas emissions and increased bushfire risk is complex but, according to major science agencies, clear. Climate change does not create bushfires, but it can and does make them worse. A number of factors contribute to bushfire risk, including temperature, fuel load, dryness, wind speed and humidity. What is the evidence on rising temperatures? The Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO say Australia has warmed by 1C since 1910 and temperatures will increase in the future. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says it is extremely likely increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases since the mid-20th century is the main reason it is getting hotter. The Bushfire and Natural Hazards research centre says the variability of normal events sits on top of that. Warmer weather increases the number of days each year on which there is high or extreme bushfire risk. What other effects do carbon emissions have? Dry fuel load - the amount of forest and scrub available to burn - has been linked to rising emissions. Under the right conditions, carbon dioxide acts as a kind of fertiliser that increases plant growth. So is climate change making everything dryer? Dryness is more complicated. Complex computer models have not found a consistent climate change signal linked to rising CO2 in the decline in rain that has produced the current eastern Australian drought. But higher temperatures accelerate evaporation. They also extend the growing season for vegetation in many regions, leading to greater transpiration (the process by which water is drawn from the soil and evaporated from plant leaves and flowers). The result is that soils, vegetation and the air may be drier than they would have been with the same amount of rainfall in the past. What do recent weather patterns show? The year coming into the 2019-20 summer has been unusually warm and dry for large parts of Australia. Above average temperatures now occur most years and 2019 has been the fifth driest start to the year on record, and the driest since 1970. Is arson a factor in this year's extreme bushfires? Not a significant one. Two pieces of disinformation, that an “arson emergency”, rather than climate change, is behind the bushfires, and that “greenies” are preventing firefighters from reducing fuel loads in the Australian bush have spread across social media. They have found their way into major news outlets, the mouths of government MPs, and across the globe to Donald Trump Jr and prominent right-wing conspiracy theorists. NSW’s Rural Fire Service has said the major cause of ignition during the crisis has been dry lightning. Victoria police say they do not believe arson had a role in any of the destructive fires this summer. The RFS has also contradicted claims that environmentalists have been holding up hazard reduction work. Photograph: Regi Varghese/AAP

On Monday, Littleproud told ABC’s Radio National that Australia has been “adapting to a changing climate since we first settled this country and we’ll have to continue to do that and do that with the best science we’ve got available”.

When asked whether human-induced climate change is making bushfires more intense, Littleproud replied: “We’re adapting to it as the climate continues to change and we’ll continue to equip our service workers … Whether it’s manmade or not is irrelevant.”

The minister suggested there were “extremes from both sides” of the debate which should be about “do we want to breathe healthy air”. He said his job was to ensure emergency services “are given the tools and resources they need, [and] they have the science to understand that these events could become more severe”.

Asked by Guardian Australia why he had avoided taking a position on the effect of manmade climate change, Littleproud replied: “I don’t know if climate change is manmade.

“I’m about practical outcomes, whether that’s about having a cleaner environment or giving farmers and emergency services the right tools to adapt,” he said.

“I am responsible for making sure we have the tools we need to adapt to a changing climate.”

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On Monday, the Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, used Senate question time to target Littleproud for his original answer, suggesting he was in effect dismissing the concerns of emergency services chiefs who have warned of climate change’s contribution to fires.

The agriculture minister, Bridget McKenzie, rebuked Di Natale for “politicising bushfires which right now are affecting landholders, homes, environmental assets and farmers in communities in Queensland and north-east NSW”.

McKenzie – answering on behalf of Littleproud – said the minister and she had been “very upfront … about the fact that the climate is changing”. “There is variability around the climate.”

Asked if she accepted that human-induced climate change is making bushfires worse, McKenzie replied: “Our government has made very clear that we take climate change seriously.”

On Tuesday Di Natale repeated the tactic – this time targeting Canavan, who again accused the Greens of using the tragedy in “combustible fashion” to further the party’s own political cause.

Canavan quoted a NSW environment department report which suggested there was “considerable uncertainty” of the impact of climate change on bushfire risk, although the report concluded it will likely increase bushfire risk.

Canavan said the Liberal-National Coalition supported “sensible responses to climate change that included support for the high-quality coal and gas that we produce in this country”. “It is through the high-quality production of energy that we will respond to climate change and reduce emissions,” he said.

Ley told ABC Radio that she doesn’t know “what caused this particular fire on this particular day”.

“We have always lived on a continent which has been ravaged by fires, I am not going to become an expert on what is causing the fires,” she said.

“I am sure it is related to climate change, to what degree and under what circumstances, and what actions we could be taking, there is a whole range of other conversations around that.”

Earlier on Tuesday, four Coalition MPs raised the issue of drought and natural disasters in the joint party room, urging practical options to help regional businesses including shops that are not eligible for drought assistance.

Several others raised the issue of insurance in north Queensland, which is subject to monsoonal troughs and severe tropical cyclones. The MPs complained of exorbitant premium rises of between 300% and 500% and argued the situation is a market failure with insurers warning it is no longer profitable to insure areas including Townsville.

The MPs suggested reducing regulatory barriers to encourage smaller insurers or mutuals to offer insurance. Scott Morrison directed the assistant treasurer, Michael Sukkar, to meet northern Queensland MPs; Sukkar said he was already working with the competition regulator on the issue.