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Climate & Disaster Resilience Action Plan
Climate research and reports
In the last 12 months, IAG - in partnership with the US-based National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) - has released two reports considering the impact of a changing climate on severe weather, and examining what this means for specific areas of Australia.
Severe Weather in a Changing Climate
In November 2019, IAG and NCAR released the report Severe Weather in a Changing Climate. The report noted that climate change is already well underway and is considered by many to be the greatest risk currently facing humanity. Every year we are confronted globally with extreme weather events, that become natural disasters. Our communities in Australia are exposed to just about every hazard this world can throw at them, from earthquakes to storms and cyclones, to bushfires and devastating floods.
We cannot prevent these events happening, but we know more can be done to better prepare communities and make them more resilient and stronger.
Protecting communities requires greater investment in resilience and mitigation planning – be it from governments, businesses, community organisations or individuals – which will reduce the physical, economic and social recovery costs that follow a disaster.
This report reviews and interprets the latest climate science to understand how climate change is impacting the severity and frequency of weather events like tropical cyclones, hailstorms and rainfall, and what is likely to happen in the future. The report also examines the changing physical risks from severe weather patterns, considering past, present and future climates.
Climate change will require broadscale collaboration and co-ordination across all sectors of the community. Climate change is too big for one organisation to solve and it is our hope this report will provide a foundation to drive more conversation, so the necessary change can happen.
Read the first report and watch the authors talk to their contributions
Severe Weather in a Changing Climate 2nd Edition
On 9 September IAG released the second edition of the Severe Weather in a Changing Climate report, in partnership with the US-based National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
The 2nd edition of the report builds on the first report released in November last year and notes that climate change will result in more frequent and intense extreme weather events across Australia, resulting in greater property, personal and economic damage, and hardship for Australian communities.
See the report, and watch the authors speak about what is new this time.