It is hard to imagine there will be a more important piece of work put out by the Albanese government in this term of parliament than the national climate risk assessment. It suggests that at more than 2C of global heating – a level we are headed towards on our current trajectory – the systems Australians rely on could start to crumble and collapse.
That’s an easy thing to say, but a hard thing to get your head around. There was a huge amount of information released on Monday, including an adaptation plan that is only the start of grappling with the problem, and it will take time to digest. But it is worth considering what the assessment led by the Australian Climate Service says about the country’s economic future if global emissions are not curbed and temperatures continue to rise.
