The challenge
Australia is facing increasing challenges from climate change
Australia’s climate is changing, posing risks to the essential parts of our lives - like the food we eat, the homes we live in, the health services we rely on and the natural environment we enjoy.
Australia currently experiences compounding and cascading hazards, and this is going to increase.
We need to understand the risks from climate change to plan and adapt for a safer future.
Our response
Assessing significant climate threats
As a partner of the Australian Climate Service, along with the Bureau of Meteorology, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Geoscience Australia, we contributed to the delivery of the National Climate Risk Assessment.
The National Assessment provides a detailed understanding of the most significant climate risks facing the nation, identifying how Australia’s people, infrastructure, economy, and environment are exposed and vulnerable to climate change this century.
It provides new data and analyses assembled in a nationally consistent way that can be used by governments, communities, industries and businesses, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, to drive adaptation at national, regional and local scales.
The full National Assessment considered eight key systems, 10 priority climate-related hazards, 11 geographical regions, three time periods and three global warming levels. The first pass assessment identified 63 nationally significant climate risks, with the Australian Government selecting 11 of these risks for a detailed second pass assessment.
CSIRO contributed technical reports for the second pass assessment, covering:
- Natural Ecosystems Synthesis
- Natural Ecosystems Freshwater
- Natural Ecosystems Marine
- Natural Ecosystems Terrestrial: Appendix
- Supply Chains
- Primary Industries
- Critical Infrastructure
- Air Quality and Communicable Diseases
The results
Insights into climate risks and impacts to inform future adaptation
The National Assessment provides a comprehensive understanding of Australia’s current and future climate risks, consolidating information from various sectors into a national perspective.
The National Assessment found we’re likely to experience more intense and extreme climate hazards, with many events occurring more frequently, in combination or affecting new locations.
Extreme heat, floods, bushfires, poor air quality and communicable diseases will escalate health risks.
Sea level rise and increased coastal hazards will significantly impact coastal communities and cities. By 2050, the number of coastal communities located in high and very high-risk areas nationally will increase.
Northern Australia is likely to experience escalating challenges as its proneness to hazards increases as the global temperature rises. This will put pressure on health, critical infrastructure, natural ecosystems, and primary industries.
These insights and analysis of climate risks will help to inform the prioritisation, planning and implementation of adaptation actions.