Australia: National climate risk assessment

The Australian Climate Service has authored the first National Climate Risk Assessment (National Assessment) for Australia, providing an assessment of risk across 8 key systems and 11 regions, prioritising key risks both within each system and across systems, providing an understanding of who or what might be at risk from a changing climate across the country.

The 8 key functional systems, vital to Australian society, and influenced by a changing climate, are as follows:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
• Communities - urban, regional and remote
• Defence and national security
• Economy, trade and finance
• Health and social support
• Infrastructure and the built environment
• Natural environment
• Primary industries and food

The National Assessment provides new data and analyses in a nationally consistent manner that can be used by governments, communities, industries and businesses, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, to drive adaption at national, regional and local scales. For example, the national perspective provided can help in the prioritisation of adaptation actions by decision makers.

In scoping of the National Climate Risk Assessment, a repeatable methodology was developed that provides a national framework for climate risk assessments. This methodology allows for a continuous and repeatable assessment of Australia's climate risks over time, building transparency and accountability for climate risk and adaptation.