Developed by the Australian Climate Service and the climate change department, it was delayed until after the May election along with other Labor climate documents, including a 2035 emissions reduction target and a climate adaptation plan. The government is expected to release them within weeks \u2013 the 2035 target is due by September \u2013 but dates have not been confirmed.<\/p>\n
Sources who have seen drafts of the risk assessment said it included scenarios that showed the climate crisis would affect all Australians, including in ways that to date have been little discussed in political debate.<\/p>\n
Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n The analysis considered the climate impact on eight systems: defence and national security; the economy, trade and finance; First Nations values and knowledge; health and social support; infrastructure and built environments; the natural environment; primary industries and food and regional; and remote communities.<\/p>\n The results suggest that under some scenarios major systems \u2013 including electricity networks, transport routes, food production and supply, and the financial sector \u2013 could struggle to cope with rising temperatures and escalating extreme events.<\/p>\n It would be wrong for the Albanese government to delay its release to avoid scrutiny …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Australian Conservation Foundation\u2019s climate program manager, Gavan McFadzean<\/p>\n One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the report, said: \u201cMy sense is when people read it they have a newfound sense of where climate change will lead. It is intense and scary. Even for someone who has been focused on this and thinking long and hard about IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] reports, it\u2019s confronting to read about the details and the severity of the impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n Another said: \u201cPeople sometimes think things could get hotter, but it\u2019s far more complex than just saying \u2018it will get hot and people will have heatstroke.\u2019 There is not one system that is not hard hit by climate change in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond the impact on lives, livelihoods and nature, the analysis is expected to prompt debate about the cost to the federal budget, and the extent to which the commonwealth will need to take responsibility to pay for preparation and recovery. Extreme weather slowed economic growth<\/a> early in 2025 and, according to the federal Treasury, cost the Australian economy $2.2bn in the first half of the year.<\/a><\/p>\n The report is a major focus for institutional investors working out where to direct trillions of dollars. The executive director for policy at the Investor Group on Climate Change, Francesca Muskovic, said investors were already seeing physical climate damage and disruption to the economy, and were aware governments could not fund the response on their own.<\/p>\n Muskovic said the commonwealth was already spending $1.6bn a year on disaster recovery, but budgeting only $215m. \u201cThis is now a predictable recurring cost and we need to think about how we better invest in preventive, risk reduction measures that reduce the recovery cost down the track,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She said the key to increasing private investment was \u201cgetting an accurate and comprehensive picture of where the risks are, and where the investment is most needed\u201d.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, called on the government to release the risk assessment as a prelude to setting a \u201cstrong, science-based\u201d emissions reduction target for 2035, describing it as \u201can explosive document that they\u2019ve been burying for over a year\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Australian public have a right to know what\u2019s in store for us,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need the release of that climate report so that everyone can see what potential future lies [ahead] if our government keeps kissing the hand of coal and gas companies.\u201d<\/p>\n The Australian Conservation Foundation\u2019s climate program manager, Gavan McFadzean, said the assessment was a \u201ccritical ingredient\u201d in determining a 2035 emissions target and should be released \u201cwell in advance\u201d of that decision. \u201cIt would be wrong for the Albanese government to delay its release to avoid scrutiny over whether the looming 2035 target is ambitious enough to protect people and nature in Australia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said the government was \u201cclose to finalising\u201d the report, describing it as Australia\u2019s \u201cfirst-ever comprehensive assessment of the risks posed by climate change across the country, and a plan for how we can adapt\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re working hard to rapidly reduce emissions and strengthen our adaptation and resilience, to mitigate against and better prepare for the worsening impacts of climate change,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n One source familiar with the report said they did not mind that the report had been delayed if it meant the government responded to it well. \u201cIn 10 years\u2019 time, no one will remember whether it is out this month or next month if it\u2019s a good outcome,\u201d they said. \u201cThat\u2019s what matters for our kids.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An unreleased Australian government report on the economic and environmental risks posed by the climate crisis is \u201cintense…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":139717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-139716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115015939847647323","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Great](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4608.jpg\")
Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching event in 2024 most widespread and severe on record – video<\/p>\n