The Albanese Government's critical work to help Australians prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change is approaching a key milestone, with the first technical workshops of Australia's first National Climate Risk Assessment concluding in Adelaide this week.
After a decade of denial and delay, the Albanese Government is taking strong action to protect Australians by identifying and assessing the risks posed by climate change like hotter days, more frequent natural disasters, and more intense rainfall.
The two-day workshop starting today, will bring together experts from across the country to prioritise already identified impacts. These include health risks posed by air quality and heat, industry disruptions to supply chains, and built environment risks to waste management and essential services infrastructure.
Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Jenny McAllister said climate impacts on communities will be varied and vast, this workshop will assist the government to prioritise the climate risks facing our communities like heat stress and supply chain constraints.
"Unlike the last government, the Albanese Government is taking strong action to limit climate change, while also acting to protect Australians from increasing and more devastating climate events, the National Climate Risk Assessment critical to this.
"Heat impacts on human health, the resilience of buildings to extreme weather, and water management have all been identified has future risks. If we understand these risks, Australia will be better placed to prepare, adapt, and respond to the impacts of climate change we now can't avoid."
Stage 1 of the two-stage process to develop the National Climate Risk Assessment will deliver a high-level qualitative understanding of national priorities for climate adaptation action and will be released later this year. The in-depth quantitative analysis of the priority risks will be delivered at Stage 2 by the end of 2024.
The 2023-24 Budget provided $27.4 million over 2 years to fund the risk assessment and inform a National Adaptation Plan to minimise future adverse impacts from climate change. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is leading the National Climate Risk Assessment in partnership with world-leading scientists from the Australian Climate Service.
