Question

what will be the impact on the economy of Australia as a result of climate change affecting drinking water?

Answer 1

Australia faces significant environmental and economic impacts from climate change across a number of sectors.

More than 85% of Australians live within 50 km of the shoreline and the coastal region generates most of the country's economic activity.

Rising sea levels increase the risk of damage caused by storm surges. This in turn exacerbates coastal erosion, with the risk of damage to coastal infrastructure, removal of sediment from beaches and loss of land.

Gradual impacts and extreme events may pose challenges to assets and infrastructure, including commercial and residential buildings, energy,water, and communications utilities and transport systems.

Failure in one part of a city's social, economic or infrastructure networks may have cascading or unanticipated effects elsewhere.

The increased frequency of drought conditions in southern Australia has the potential to affect agricultural yields.Forestry is facing an increased risk of declining productivity and tree mortality in some regions as a result of reduced rainfall,increased temperatures,natural disasters and water loss.

Ground water is vulnerable to climate change and climate variability .Potential climate risks for groundwater include reduced groundwater recharge and supplies , seawater intrusion to coastal aquifers, reduction of freshwater availability on small islands and increased demand from communities and industries.

In 2017, the government released the NWI module: Considering climate change and extreme events in water planning and management , a supporting document to the National Water Initiative Policy Guidelines for Water Planning and Management. The module provides guidance to jurisdictions on how to consider and incorporate possible impacts from climate change and extreme events in water planning and management. It provides a suite of options for managing climate risks, allowing water planners to develop an approach tailored to their local circumstances such as the type of water resource and level of demand for water.