Shortly before Christmas, the Australian government announced it would reject a Productivity Commission recommendation to invest $200 million in natural disaster mitigation. The government, releasing its response to the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Natural Disaster Funding Arrangements, said natural disaster mitigation was primarily a state and territory responsibility.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As usual, climate change is the elephant in the room. As the climate changes, our “natural disasters” are increasingly becoming not so natural. And Australia is consistently failing to take sufficient action to mitigate future disasters. While global emissions flatlined last year for the third year in a row, Australia’s pollution continued to rise. In the meantime, Australians are counting the cost – especially in Victoria, Australia’s most fire-prone state.
Economic modelling by Deloitte Access Economics in 2014 estimated the annual economic cost of bushfires in Victoria could more than double to $378 million by 2050. These projections do not incorporate increased bushfire frequency or intensity due to climate change and so may severely underestimate the true costs.
Without significant national and global action to curb greenhouse gas missions, Victoria could see a significant increase in the number of days over 35 degrees each year. Such increases have alarming implications for a state that is already one of the most bushfire prone in the world.
Extreme fire weather has increased in Victoria over the last 30 years and the fire season has lengthened, beginning earlier in October and extending through to March. Climate change is driving more frequent and intense heatwaves, which is in turn driving up the number of extreme fire danger days.
The increasing severity, frequency and length of the Victorian fire season is not only placing significant strain on emergency services and hospitals, but also on the state’s economy. Millions of dollars have been spent on rebuilding and recovery costs for 116 families left homeless after Christmas Day bushfires devastated properties in Wye River and Separation Creek last summer. The cost of recovery for this blaze alone was so significant that the Andrews Government stepped in with a $2.75 million assistance package. Rewind again, back to Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires in February 2009 that burned more than 3500 km2, caused 173 deaths, destroyed more than 2000 buildings and caused $4 billion in damage.
The huge human and economic toll of bushfires will only worsen for Victoria without effective climate change action.
The link between climate change and bushfires is clear. More action is needed to limit the severity of bushfires in Victoria and elsewhere. And yet Australia’s current emissions target of 26-28 per cent compared to 2005 levels by 2030 lags well behind the rest of the developed world. We’re failing to meet even our own meagre targets – Australia’s emissions have continued to rise each year since the carbon price was repealed.
Extreme weather events already cost Australia more than $9 billion a year and these costs will continue to rise as the climate warms. And yet governments in Australia spend 97 per cent of “natural disaster” funding on recovery after events and only 3 per cent on prevention. Tackling climate change is critical to reduce the risk of worsening extreme weather events such as bushfires and help dodge the economic wrecking ball that is inevitable in a world with runaway climate change.
Professor Lesley Hughes is an ecologist and member of the Climate Council.