Our Future World report by Australia’s National Science Agency CSIRO has shown that natural disasters will cost Australia’s economy a staggering $39 billion per year by 2050.
According to the report, which delves into major global movements that have the potential for substantial and transformative impact, extreme weather events are set to “exceed the bounds of historical norms.” It showed that the chilling figure falls under the “adapting to climate change” megatrend.
“The increasing frequency and cost of natural disasters, with the potential for multiple concurrent climate hazards compounding the overall climate risk, highlight the need for urgent climate action,” the report found. “There is a critical role for science and technology in developing solutions to enhance disaster preparedness and manage climate change impacts.”
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It showed that natural disasters cost Australia over $13 billion in 2017 even as the Black Summer bushfires from 2019 and 2020 cost the Australian economy over $2 billion while flooding along southeast Queensland cost the state $7 billion.
The report further explained that these extreme weather events will only continue as global temperatures and sea levels rise and heavy rainfall becomes more intense and that some of the industries expected to be most impacted are agriculture and real estate.
This is not the first time predictions on the cost of natural disasters have been made. Recall that a study from the Climate Council in 2019 revealed that without urgent action to curb global warming, climate change could knock as much as $4 trillion off Australia’s economy by the century’s end.
In the same year, German company Munich Re revealed that wildfires, floods and hurricanes fuelled by climate change cost the world US$150 billion, with costs set to soar.
Story was adapted from Global Citizen.
