Climate change risks to Australia's coasts: a first national pass assessment

This Report presents the findings of the first national assessment of the risks of climate change for the whole of Australia’s coastal zone. It focuses on risks to settlements and infrastructure, ecosystems and industries in the coastal zone.

Its objectives are to: (i) provide an initial assessment of the future implications of climate change for nationally significant aspects of Australia’s coast, with a particular focus on coastal settlements and ecosystems; (ii) identify areas at high risk to climate change impacts; (iii) identify key barriers or impediments that hinder effective responses to minimise the impacts of climate change in the coastal zone; and (iv) help identify national priorities for adaptation to reduce climate change risk in the coastal zone.

The Report is structured into six chapters:

• Chapter 1 provides an overview of the geological history of Australia’s coastal zone and explores how past variability could inform our understanding of future change.
• Chapter 2 discusses the science that supports understanding of climate change risks in the coastal zone.
• Chapter 3 describes the investments in national capability that have occurred to enable this first pass national assessment, and the methodology that was applied to identify areas at risk.
• Chapter 4 provides an overview of the implications of climate change for the natural environment.
• Chapter 5 identifies the key risks to built infrastructure with a particular focus on residential buildings at state and local government scales.
• Chapter 6 concludes the Report with a discussion on coastal adaptation. It explores whether there is a case for early action and whether there are barriers to adaptation. The Chapter describes emerging areas to enable coastal adaptation which could benefit from national coordination.
• The Appendix describes the common elements of an adaptation response particularly for the built environment: planned retreat, accommodating the impacts, and protection through building protective structures.