Australia is at risk of losing A$40 billion (S$34.1 billion) a year due to climate change
[CANBERRA] Australia will spend US$6 billion on climate adaptation through 2030 as it braces for more frequent, severe and overlapping hazards caused by global warming, the government said in two climate-related reports on Monday (Sep 15).
The money is earmarked for flood mitigation, bushland conservation, supporting the agriculture sector to transition to net zero, and managing health impacts across society, among others, according to the National Adaptation Plan. That was released alongside a report that showed the nation at risk of losing A$40 billion (S$34.1 billion) a year due to climate change.
“No Australian community will be immune” from deadly heat waves, floods, cyclones, droughts and bushfires, said Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen on the release of the reports.
They come as Australia prepares to publish its 2035 emissions targets and is bidding to co-host the United Nations’ flagship climate conference next year. Environmental groups have pushed for the new targets to be far more ambitious as the nation tackles back-to-back disasters already costing billions each year.
One of the world’s largest per capita emitters and a major exporter of fossil fuels, Australia needs to slash emissions 71% by 2035 if it’s to hit net zero by mid-century, according to BloombergNEF.
“Every degree of warming we prevent now will help future generations avoid the worst impacts in years to come,” Bowen added, pointing to the country’s declining emissions and record investment in clean energy.
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Some of those impacts are already apparent. Torrential rains triggered widespread flooding on the country’s east coast earlier this year, killing five people and sweeping away livestock and homes.
Future impacts include more than 1.5 million Australians being at risk of sea level rise and coastal flooding by 2050, and heat deaths rising more than 400% in Sydney if warming exceeds 3C, according to the National Climate Risk Assessment. Losses on property values would total A$611 billion by 2050 as people migrate out of high-risk areas, the report added.
Disadvantaged households, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and those with pre-existing health conditions face the greatest risks as climate hazards intensify. Food and water security will also be strained as droughts cut into crop yields, and warmer seas and acidification accelerate coral bleaching on the Great Barrier and Ningaloo reefs, it said.
“The findings highlight that adaptation to these risks is no longer optional but an urgent requirement, particularly given that risks do not occur in isolation but cascade across multiple sectors, which is amplifying impacts,” said Martina Linnenluecke, director of the Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience at the University of Technology Sydney. BLOOMBERG
