First climate risk report delivers dire warning: Will policy catch up?

The federal government’s release of the inaugural National Climate Risk Assessment highlights the serious impacts of climate change on human health. Produced by the Australian Climate Service, this first independent assessment draws on data and expertise from the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and Geoscience Australia.

“The report should serve as a wake up call for anyone still clinging to climate denialism or a business as usual approach to climate risks, alerting them to take this threat seriously and prepare for what we know is coming,” said Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) in a statement.

“More importantly it should serve as a signal to stop making things worse by adding to the burden of greenhouse gas emissions. The best form of adaptation is mitigation, and this report should be understood by all parliamentarians of the need to quit fossil fuels and move to renewable energy to protect the health of our communities and everything we hold dear.

“To draw a medical analogy, our governments’ continued expansion of coal and gas in the light of extreme climate risk, is like a health professional telling a patient it’s okay to smoke when they have heart and lung disease. Such an action would be medically indefensible and viewed as unethical in the extreme.”

Sussan Ley, Leader of the Opposition, said “After emissions rose under Labor, they now sit at 28% below 2005 levels – exactly the same as when the Coalition left office.

“It is expected Labor will unveil its 2035 emissions target later this week. Any target must pass two simple tests: it must be credible, and it must be upfront about the cost to households and small businesses. We need to reduce emissions, but not at any cost. If Labor cannot outline the cost and a credible pathway, why should Australians trust them not to force households and small businesses to pay even more?”

AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen welcomed the assessment, asserting that it validates long-standing warnings from health organisations about the serious and escalating health risks posed by rising temperatures and climate change-driven disasters.

“In 2019, we joined with the British Medical Association and Doctors for the Environment to call for action on climate change, warning of the disastrous impacts if nothing was done,” Dr McMullen said.

“The information in this assessment – including that heat-related deaths would surge 450% (in Sydney alone) if global heating surpasses 3C – is terrifying, but it can’t be ignored. Every year we see heatwaves around the globe and increasingly record-breaking temperatures, and with those heatwaves, we sadly see people dying – many of them from vulnerable populations without access to cooling mechanisms,” she added.

Annie Butler, Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), highlighted the frontline role of nurses and midwives during extreme weather events.

“Time and time again, nurses and midwives have shown their incredible resilience, going above and beyond to keep people safe during extreme weather events, like floods, fires and heatwaves.

“That’s why funding the National and Climate Change strategy is crucial, so our communities, particularly those most vulnerable to climate-related health risks, have the resources and support they need to prepare, respond and recover from the impacts of extreme weather events. Government must work with us to ensure every Australian has access to the support to stay safe and healthy, as the climate continues to change.”

Dr McMullen noted that the health and infrastructure consequences of climate change were a major focus at the AMA’s Rising Temperatures, Rising Risks roundtable earlier this year.

“We heard some pretty harrowing stuff at that roundtable, including the impact not just on physical health but on mental health when temperatures rise, and the increasing number of young people ending up in hospital emergency rooms as a result. We also heard about the impacts of rising temperatures on First Nations peoples, together with the need to involve First Nations peoples in developing solutions,” she said.

DEA has further condemned the government’s recent approvals of fossil fuel projects, including the North West Shelf Extension, which allows gas processing at the Burrup Hub until 2070, as well as the Ulan coal mine.

“We expect our government to put the health of our communities first by embracing its ethical duty to address our dependence on fossil fuels, by passing legislation that disallows climate pollution and by adopting a robust evidence based emissions reduction target. At DEA we have an interim reduction target for health care of 80% by 2030, which we would recommend,” the organisation emphasised.

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