by David Spratt, first published at Pearls&Irritations
The Albanese Government will soon deliver Australia’s first domestically-oriented National Climate Risk Assessment, which was due in December 2024. Will it describe the full spectrum of climate risks Australians will face in the future, or be marred by a poor approach to risk analysis, bureaucratic incompetence and a limited vision?
In mid-2022, shortly after assuming office, the Albanese Government ordered a climate and security risk assessment, in line with a pre-election commitment. The analysis was undertaken by the Office of National Intelligence and delivered to the government in late 2022. It focused on the region and did not specifically cover domestic risks. Since then, the government has barely said a word about the ONI findings or about climate-security risks, has not released the analysis in any declassified form and has indicated it does not intend to do so.
