Moreland Energy Foundation

As the clean-up in Queensland begins, the severe economic impact of these floods is becoming clear.  One economist has estimated that the cost could be as much as $13 billion, around 1% of Australia's gross domestic product (GDP).

The economic impact of these floods will include the slowing or suspending of mining operations which has global implications and affects the price of commodities such as coal and the production of steel, the extreme destruction of infrastructure such as roads, railways and buildings including many homes that will need to be repaired, ruined agricultural operations which will have knock-on effects for the rest of Australia and globally in terms of higher food prices and prices of agricultural products such as cotton, and high levels of cancellations for tourism operators.  Further information on the cost of the Queensland floods can be found in these articles from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun.  See also this incredible interactive before-and-after map on the ABC website to get a good indication of the impact of these floods around Queensland.

As we have previously blogged, climate predictions forecast more frequent, more severe and more destructive extreme weather events as the globe heats up.  In Victoria, we have had recent experience with extreme drought and bushfires, and many Victorian towns are now facing floods more damaging than the serious flooding experienced last September.  Analysis by Melbourne Water and others indicates that Melbourne suburbs are likely to suffer from more freqent flooding (see article in The Age).  Now, British economist Nicholas Stern has released an updated economic analysis of the costs of addressing climate change versus the cost of doing nothing.  The study shows that unhampered climate change would result in a massive 20% reduction in world economic growth, while the cost of responding to climate change is getting more expensive by the day (see this article for more detail).

What does this mean for governments and communities around the world?  Apart from the terrible human tragedy of extreme weather events and climate change, the economic costs of climate inaction make a clear case for urgent action to reduce global emissions - the costs of doing so, which Mr Stern estimated at around 1% of global GDP, are far less than the costs of doing nothing.

Our thoughts this week are with the people affected by the devastating floods in Queensland.  Donations can be made via the Australian Red Cross website and will assist by helping people get through this disaster, and clean up and rebuild once the water subsides.

After a year of extraordinary disasters in Australia and around the world, including these floods, last year's bushfires in Victoria, record-breaking heat waves and bushfires in Russia and severe wintry weather in Europe to name a few, many people are questioning the link between extreme weather events and climate change.

It is important to remember is that climate change is unlikely to be the sole cause of extreme weather events.  Such events have always been a feature of our natural environment, particularly in Australia.  We have always had floods, droughts, heat waves and bushfires, although sometimes the most extreme events occur many years or decades apart and so we feel like we're suffering through something new and terrible.  However, climate change predictions do forecast that climate change will make extreme weather events more frequent, more severe and more damaging.

A number of good summaries of the connections between climate change and extreme flooding can be found on the websites of the Climate Action Centre and the Australian Conservation Foundation (see also ACF's fact sheet).

With some degree of climate change now unavoidable, the Queensland floods demonstrate the urgency of integrating climate change projections into our urban planning and building design processes so we are well prepared to respond to more frequent and severe weather in the future.