The assessment describes "severe" risks to defence and national security; regional, urban and remote communities; health and the environment; as well as "very high" risks to the economy and food production.
These include:
- 1.5 million Australians living along the coastline would be under threat of rising sea levels by 2050.
- Deaths caused by heatwaves will soar by more than 400% in places like Sydney and Darwin.
- 63 "nationally significant" climate risks identified, including threats to social cohesion, supply chains and essential services.
Australia Institute research shows burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) compromises the fundamental systems underpinning Australia's security, wellbeing and prosperity.
Coal and gas exports from Australia are also playing a major role in the destruction of the world's climate, and climate change is having a devastating impact on Australia's neighbours in the Pacific.
"Coal and gas exports from Australia are playing a major role in destroying the world's climate, with devastating consequences for all the systems underpinning the security, wellbeing and prosperity of Australians," said Richard Denniss, Executive Director of The Australia Institute.
"Climate change is making fires, floods and heatwaves more frequent and extreme. This isn't just devastating in itself; it is driving our insurance premiums through the roof and making many homes uninsurable.
"Almost a fifth of Australia's domestic emissions are from fossil fuel exports. The Australian government can't pretend to be meeting our climate commitments while it keeps approving new fossil fuel export projects.
"The enormous emissions from the Australian government's approval of new fuel export projects make a mockery of the government's incremental climate policies and expose the Prime Minister's promise to our Pacific neighbors to take urgent action as empty platitudes.
"Approving new fossil fuel exports is destroying the future. It isn't just a betrayal of our Pacific neighbors, it is a betrayal of all Australians, putting the profits of foreign-owned fossil fuel corporations ahead of our wellbeing, security and prosperity."
Key facts:
- Australia is the second largest fossil fuel exporter and fifth largest fossil fuel producer in the world.
- Emissions from Australia's fossil fuel exports are around 1.15 billion tonnes CO2e annually, greater than the emissions of all countries except China, the United States, India and Russia.
- Australia is expanding fossil fuel exports with around 100 new fossil fuel projects under development.
- Nearly a fifth of Australia's domestic emissions now come from sending fossil fuels overseas.
- The 45-year extension of Woodside's North West Shelf gas export terminal, approved by the Australian government last Friday, will add around 90 million tonnes of emissions to the atmosphere, equivalent to opening 12 new coal power stations.
- The Australian government gives most of the gas exported from Australia global oil and gas giants for free.
- No gas export project has ever paid Petroleum Resource Rent tax (PRRT) and the government collects more revenue from HECS than the PRRT.
- 99.7% of Australians do not work in the oil and gas industry.
