Under current policies, Australia’s property market is expected to lose $571 billion in value by 2030 due to climate change and extreme weather according to a recent report released by the Climate Council.

Compound Costs: How Climate Change is Damaging Australia’s Economy seeks to expose the material cost of climate inaction, and highlights how property has emerged as one of the most vulnerable sectors to the economic impacts of climate change.

Key findings from the report include:

• More than $226 billion in commercial, industrial, road, rail, and residential assets will be at risk from sea level rise alone by 2100, if greenhouse gas emissions continue at high levels.
• One in every 19 property owners face the prospect of insurance premiums that will be effectively unaffordable by 2030 (costing 1% or more of the property value per year).
• Some Australians will be acutely and catastrophically affected. Low-lying properties near rivers and coastlines are particularly at risk, with flood risks increasing progressively and coastal inundation risks emerging as a major threat around 2050.
• Certain events which are likely to become more common because of climate change are not covered by commercial insurance, including coastal inundation and erosion.

Climate Council argue that greenhouse gas emissions must decline to net zero emissions before 2050 if Australia is to avoid the costs of climate change increasing exponentially. It recommends:

• Increasing resilience to extreme weather and climate change should become a key component of urban planning, infrastructure design and building standards.
• Buildings and infrastructure must be built to withstand future climate hazards and to facilitate the transition to a net zero emissions economy.
• A credible national climate policy is needed to safeguard our economy by reducing the direct costs of climate change, and avoiding economic risks associated with a sudden, disruptive or disorderly transition to net zero emissions.

More information here