National Climate Risk Assessment Workshop Stakeholder Dinner

Introduction

Good evening – or kaya, as we say on Whadjuk-Noongar country, where I come from.

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, and pay my respects to their elders, and to all First Nations people present.

It’s my pleasure to join you all here tonight, after what I understand has been a productive Day 1 of the National Climate Risk Assessment Workshop.

I am grateful to you for that engagement because I am utterly convinced of the necessity of this work.

I am also grateful, in slightly more selfish terms, because I am fortunate to now work in a role that takes in responsibility for what will be Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment as well as a National Adaptation Plan.  In other words, your work is both helping to protect the future wellbeing of the entire country, while also allowing me to share such an important endeavour, realised late in the process. 

It is an honour to be in the same room with so many people applying their considerable expertise and effort to help protect Australians from the impacts of climate change.

It is a privilege to be part of that enterprise with you – and at the outset I want to acknowledge the excellent stewardship of my predecessor, Senator McAllister.

We are united in this undertaking by the imperative to better understand the climate risks facing Australia in order to make sure we can best mitigate and adapt to those risks.

I want to thank the Australian Climate Service and my department for leading this work, and for organising this dinner meeting.
In a moment, I’ll reflect on the challenging but very worthwhile projects that have been entrusted to us, and the significance of this workshop in completing that work.

But first, a bit of context with respect to the process so far, as the developments that remind us of the urgency attached to this work. 

The challenge we face

Last month, the world received another dire warning about the climate emergency with the release of a 2024 State of the Climate Report.

It was authored by an international team of scientists that includes University of Sydney’s Associate Professor Thomas Newsome.

The title of the report, Perilous times on planet Earth, is both a fair and a sobering statement of fact.

Earth’s average surface temperature is at an all-time high.  The impacts of warming are already with us.  They will get worse.  The intensity of heatwaves.  The timing and duration of fire seasons.  The severity of droughts and of storms.  The volume and acidification of our oceans, and their incursions upon our coasts.

And all these steepening impacts will not arrive according to a linear rate of change.

There is no question that we must act now, not only to reduce emissions, but to prepare for and adapt to a much more challenging climate.

We can neither afford to be desensitised by the torrent of confronting climate data, nor to be overcome by the scale of the effort that is required in response.

I say that knowing that here in this room I am preaching to the converted.

This work on Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment is a vital piece of the government’s focused and wide-ranging effort to reduce emissions; to build a cleaner, more competitive, and more sustainable economy; and to protect both our environmental condition and social wellbeing.

We know that all the existing climate impacts are already placing increased stress on our health, housing, livelihoods, infrastructure, environment, emergency services, and more.

On that basis, there can be no delay in our action to manage climate risks, and to thereby reduce as much as possible the impacts to our community and our environment.

We must invest in adaption and mitigation, bringing together integrated, accurate, timely, and accessible information that underpins expert advice so we can all make smarter decisions to reduce impacts and risks.

That is precisely what the Australian Government is doing.

Seizing opportunity

As you know, the government has allocated $27.4 million over 2 years to deliver Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment and National Adaptation Plan.

That has involved a significant and impressive scope of work, undertaken, with respect to the risk assessment, by the Australian Climate Service, and we are on track to deliver both those critical instalments of Australia’s climate decision-making framework.

The processes for both projects are integrated, ensuring that what we learn through risk assessment continuously informs the adaptation planning process.

All Australians should take heart from the fact that we have some of the world’s best and brightest climate and adaptation scientists applying their expertise to this task – including folk from the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and Geoscience Australia.

To support and broaden that work we also have subject matter experts from across all levels of government; from the business sector, universities, and First Nations groups around the country.

Many of you are here tonight, and I thank you on behalf of the Australian government for putting your time and energy into this critical endeavour.

Without doubt, the breadth and depth and quality of that engagement, including through this workshop, are the ingredients that will put the Risk Assessment and Adaptation Plan at the foundation of our effective and flexible response in years to come.

And I like to think of them as stepping stones rather than building blocks – because in each case they will set us on a course of work; they are the jumping-off point for a journey that involves serious challenges, and that will require us to be responsive and dynamic.

So at this point in the process I do think it’s worth reflecting on some of the achievements that have marked the journey to date.

Our achievements

Earlier this year, in March, we reached an important milestone in the Risk Assessment in the form of the first pass assessment.

For the first time, that work gave us new and valuable insights into the most serious climate risks we face at the national level.

But it wasn’t surprising to see a new assessment confirm that our environment, health system, infrastructure, agriculture, defence, our regional communities, and the economy as a whole have all been identified as being at significant risk.

When you read that list, it does feel simpler to say: basically everything.

The second pass assessment, a deeper quantitative analysis of the top 11 priority risks, is now underway – and this two-day workshop provides an opportunity for stakeholders to explore the evidence base through technical briefings and working sessions.

After that, detailed technical findings will be released, providing us with a robust frame through which we can shape future adaptation actions and investment priorities.

And of course, the development of the National Adaptation Plan has proceeded alongside the work on risk.

The Issues Paper for the NAP was released in March, and has since been developed collaboratively through 11 sectoral roundtables and extensive consultation across the Commonwealth.

Sensibly, a stocktake of existing adaptation policy across the Australian Government was undertaken as part of that process, and there has been targeted engagement with First Nations organisations, scientists, and community groups to support the development process.

Again, I take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank everyone involved.

Conclusion

So to conclude, let me make a statement that I believe is inarguable: delivering Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment to support Australia’s National Adaptation Plan is a necessary and enormously valuable undertaking.

It could not be done without the expertise and dedication of many of you here in this room.  All those contributions count.  All that work makes a difference.  Your efforts will resonate down the years as the intended outcome of this enterprise – a comprehensive and high-quality risk assessment, and a smart effective adaptation plan – become embedded features of Australia’s response to the great global challenge of our time.

I really look forward to working with you as we seek to deliver that outcome.

Thank you.