The $billions cost of Australia’s climate disasters
Australia’s bushfires to cost billions as climate risks rise Climate Home News 07/01/2020, Australian government announces national bushfire recovery fund, as cost of natural disasters expected to rise in coming years, By Chloé Farand
Bushfires ravaging Australia are expected to cost billions of dollars in recovery efforts and the nation’s bills for tackling natural disasters risk soaring in coming decades with worsening climate change.
Record-breaking temperatures and severe droughts have fuelled the fires which have burnt millions of hectares across the country. At least 24 people and hundreds of thousands of animals have been killed.
Data from the Australian government Bureau of Meteorology shows December’s mean temperature was 3.21C warmer than the average for the month. Ed Hawkins, a professor of climate science at the University of Reading, said the country’s mean December temperature had warmed about 1.4 times faster than the global annual average temperature over the past century.
But pro-coal Prime Minister Scott Morrison has denied the link between climate change and the unprecedented intensity of bushfires across the country, describing it as “misconstrued”.
The costs of wildfires is difficult to estimate due to the indirect costs such as the destruction of wildlife and the environment, damage to public health and harm to tourism.
Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, found direct economic losses only represent a fraction of the true economic impact, which can span years.
Across the world, the economic cost of wildfire has increased in recent decades. In 2017, direct economic losses from wildfires amounted to $21bn worldwide – up from $6bn in 2016, according to Swiss Re
The costs of wildfires is difficult to estimate due to the indirect costs such as the destruction of wildlife and the environment, damage to public health and harm to tourism.
Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, found direct economic losses only represent a fraction of the true economic impact, which can span years.
Across the world, the economic cost of wildfire has increased in recent decades. In 2017, direct economic losses from wildfires amounted to $21bn worldwide – up from $6bn in 2016, according to Swiss Re. https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/01/07/australias-bushfires-cost-billions-climate-risks-rise/
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