NEGOTIATIONS
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AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
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Here are highlights of the projected impacts of climate change on the Australia and New Zealand region
based on the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (see first box on top right of screen).
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Food. By 2030, production from agriculture and forestry is
projected to drop over much of southern and eastern Australia, and over parts of eastern New
Zealand, due to increased drought and fire. However, western and southern New Zealand and
areas close to major rivers may expect initial benefits due to a longer growing season, less frost
and increased rainfall.
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Ecology and biodiversity. By as early as 2020, the Great
Barrier Reef, Queensland Wet Tropics and other ecologically rich sites are projected to face
significant loss of biodiversity. Other sites at risk include Kakadu wetlands, south-west
Australia, sub-Antarctic islands and the alpine areas of both Australia and New Zealand. These
natural systems have limited adaptive capacity.
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Coastal populations. Over 80% of the Australian population
lives in the coastal zone. About 711,000 addresses are within 3 km of the coast and less than 6m
above sea level, potentially at risk from long-term sea-level rise and large storm surges. By 2050,
continued coastal development will expose an increasing number of Australians to the combination of
expected sea-level rise, and increased severity and frequency of storms and flooding.
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Extreme weather events. In northern Australia, tropical
cyclones are likely to become more intense. Changes in patters of extreme events such as these are
difficult to adapt to.
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Australia's Darling
Aerial view of the Murray-Darling Basin. Picture by the
Department for Water, Government of South Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef may be Eastern Australia's most iconic hotbed of ecological
diversity, but the Murray-Darling Basin is its lifeblood. The Murray-Darling is
Australia’s largest river basin, accounting for about 70% of irrigated crops and
pastures. Annual streamflow in the Basin is likely to fall 10-25% by mid-century and 16-48% by
the end of the century. As a result of reduced precipitation and increased evaporation, water
security problems are projected to intensify by 2030 in southern and eastern Australia and, in
New Zealand, in Northland and some eastern regions.
Details and citations available here, which
links to IPCC findings on freshwater resources and water security in this world region.
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Individual countries in the Australia and New Zealand region
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For more detailed analysis of the climate change related vulnerabilities , click on the following.
These links will take you to the country pages of the Adaptation Learning Mechanism. The information is
sourced from country assessments and other external sources.
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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for the assessment
of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of
knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts. The UN General
Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC.
The IPCC is a scientific body. It reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and
socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. It does
not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters.
Thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC on a voluntary basis.
Review is an essential part of the IPCC process, to ensure an objective and complete assessment of
current information. IPCC aims to reflect a range of views and expertise.
The IPCC is an intergovernmental body. Currently 194 countries are members of the IPCC. Governments
participate in the review process and the plenary Sessions, where main decisions about the IPCC work
programme are taken and reports are accepted, adopted and approved.
The projected impacts and vulnerabilities for each broad region found in this section are distilled from
IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, its latest Assessment Report,
released in 2007.
For the AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND section, information and citations can be found here.
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