A new government report warns that Australia will face more frequent, extreme, and simultaneous climate events that will strain health services, infrastructure, and industries. The report, the country’s first comprehensive assessment of climate risks, concludes that no community will be immune from these “cascading, compounding and concurrent” impacts.
Specific Threats and Vulnerable Areas
According to Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, the report identifies northern Australia, remote communities, and outer suburbs of major cities as particularly susceptible to the worsening effects of extreme heat, fires, floods, and coastal inundation. The report states that while Australia is already living with the consequences of climate change, every degree of warming prevented now will help avoid the worst impacts for future generations.
To guide the national response to these findings, the government also released a new national adaptation plan. Bowen stated that the government will soon announce an “ambitious and achievable” 2035 emissions reduction target to build on its existing goals of a 43% cut by 2030 and a net-zero economy by 2050.