This prompted an immediate, and unsettling question for many Australians: could something like this happen here?

Our new analysis brings together the latest science, climate trends and fire behaviour research to provide the answer.

The uncomfortable truth is that many of the factors that led to the LA disaster are already present in Australia — and getting worse. Climate pollution from burning coal, oil and gas is supercharging heat, drying out landscapes, lengthening fire seasons and fuelling more extreme fire weather across fire-prone regions.

Australians have already experienced fires with the same hallmarks of the LA fires: drought- parched forests, strong winds, low humidity, explosive fire behaviour, and unstoppable fire fronts that fire agencies, no matter how well-resourced, struggle to respond to. 

In 2003, it happened in Canberra. In 2009, Black Saturday hit Victoria. Tasmania and the NSW Blue Mountains were ablaze in 2013. Then, the national megafires of 2019-20: the Black Summer bushfires; the most destructive and widespread in Australia on record.

What Australia has not yet experienced — but is increasingly at risk of — is what Los Angeles endured: a major fire hitting a major city. 

Our latest analysis explains that millions more Australians now live on the expanding outskirts of our capital cities and major regional centres, where homes adjoin highly flammable bush and grasslands. 

These at-risk communities — from the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria, Perth Hills, Adelaide Hills, the Blue Mountains, Sydney suburbs, NSW Central Coast, Hobart’s suburbs and Canberra’s western edge — are already some of the most fire-exposed urban areas in the world. 

In this report, we outline how climate change played an instrumental role in supercharging the main factors that underpinned the Californian catastrophe, and compare those conditions across Australia’s capital cities. We also explain why firefighters are increasingly facing fires they cannot stop; and what must be done to protect Australian lives, homes and communities as extreme fire weather intensifies.

We still have a choice on just how dangerous future fire conditions become. Now is the time to reduce climate pollution further and faster, to adapt our cities, and prepare our fire services and communities for a future increasingly at risk of devastating bushfires.

Key findings

1. The shocking 2025 wildfires that ripped through Los Angeles neighbourhoods in the middle of winter were supercharged by climate pollution.

• Climate pollution from the burning of coal, oil and gas shaped the dangerous and extreme weather conditions that drove these fires: record dryness; non arrival of the typical annual wet season; and hurricane-like winds gusting up to 160 kmh.
• Climate pollution has all but erased traditional fire seasons and turned them into an all-year-round threat. The January 2025 fires hit in the middle of winter, well outside of the traditional fire season from June to November.
• LA experienced climate whiplash: a rapid switch between two very wet years that resulted in extreme fire fuel loads, followed by very dry conditions ideal for fires.
• Around the world, climate pollution is driving worsening fire conditions: 43% of the 200 most damaging fires have occurred in just the past decade.

2. Many Australian cities share dangerous characteristics that made the LA fires so destructive, and many of our worst bushfires have also exhibited unstoppable fire behaviour.

• Like California, many parts of Australia have a hot and dry climate. Research shows between 2000 and 2023 the intensity and frequency of the worst fires in southern Australia and western North America rose sharply under more extreme weather conditions.
• Australia has suffered through fires with the same characteristics as LA: extremely strong winds, drought conditions, high fuel loads and unstoppable fire behaviour. During Black Saturday 2009 in Victoria, the fire danger index exceeded 200 (with 100 the upper limit of recognised fire danger rating up until 2009).
• Fire-generated thunderstorms, or pyroconvective events, were relatively rare with 60 such events recorded in Australia in the 40 years up to 2018. During Black Summer, there were at least 45 fire- generated thunderstorms.
• Our analysis shows that the outskirts of Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart share characteristics that made the LA fires so destructive.

3. Just like in LA, more people than ever are living in harm’s way on the fast-growing urban fringes of Australian cities.

• In LA, hurricane-like Santa Ana winds (up to 160 km/h) created a firestorm that fed on tinder dry brush, then houses. From 1990-2020, 45% of all new homes in California were built where suburbs meet flammable terrain.
• Over the past 20 years, outer suburban populations have exploded in Australia, too: More than doubling in Melbourne and Perth, up 36% in Adelaide, 33% in Hobart and 24% in Sydney.
• More than 6.9 million Australians now live where suburbs meet the bush — the zones most exposed to deadly fires. Had the Black Summer bushfires directly impacted the edges of our cities or major regional centres – such as Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, the NSW Central Coast, the Dandenong ranges, the Adelaide Hills, the Perth Hills or Hobart – then property losses on the scale of LA could have occurred.
• Many of the LA homes that burnt were built before fire resilient building standards were introduced there in 2008. Up to 90% of Australian homes in high-risk fire zones were also built before modern bushfire standards existed — making ignition due to ember attack and house-to-house fire spread far more likely.
• Research shows that, globally, 10% of all fires result in 78% of all fatalities. Most of these occur in suburbs built where bush or grassland meets cities.

4. Climate pollution is turbo-charging Australian fire conditions, and it’s making fires more frequent, costly, intense – and less predictable.

• Since 2020 insurance premiums have increased by 78% to 138% for homes in bushfire-prone Local Government Areas within Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
• The cost of the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires to our economy was estimated at $10 billion. It is a matter of when – not if – we’ll experience another fire on this scale, or worse, as dangerous fire weather conditions driven by climate pollution make this a near certainty.
• From 1979 to 2019 fire seasons across Australia grew by an additional 27 days – a 20% increase over the 40-year period.
• Southern Australia is experiencing long-term declines in cool-season rainfall at the same time as spring and summer become hotter and drier: setting the stage for earlier, more intense and widespread fires like the 2003 Canberra fires and 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.
• Fire behaviour at night is becoming more extreme and robbing firefighters of a tool they’ve used for centuries: attacking fires and backburning during milder night conditions to bring large fires under control.
• The world’s first large-scale fire-generated tornado – and the fastest rate of spread for a forest fire –  was recorded in Canberra, in January 2003.

5. Climate-fuelled fires are increasingly exceeding the limits of modern firefighting. Investment in community preparation and urgent cuts to climate pollution are both critical to saving Australian lives and communities.

• There is no way to safely or effectively fight pyroconvective events, like those experienced in Canberra 2003, Black Saturday 2009, and the Black Summer bushfires. Aircraft must be grounded, and efforts to protect properties temporarily abandoned.
• Modelling shows that 3°C of global warming would result in catastrophic fire danger zones three times bigger than experienced on Black Saturday in 2009 (810,000 km2) with temperatures as high as 48°C in Victoria, NSW, and South Australia.
• Fires on this scale are considered beyond the limits of any fire service to control. Los Angeles is one of the best-resourced firefighting jurisdictions in the world, but was still overwhelmed: extreme winds grounded aircraft, simultaneous fires limited assistance, and there was sudden loss of water pressure.
• Australia is facing more days of extreme fire weather and larger, more damaging fires under worsening fire weather caused by climate pollution. We must:
  • Cut climate pollution from coal, oil and gas more swiftly and deeply if we’re to avoid even worse.
  • Invest heavily in disaster preparation and community resilience at all levels of government so we’re as prepared as possible  for the worsening fire risks we already face.
  •  As a priority, increase emergency service and land management capacity at the urban fringe of our cities and major regional centres so growing populations are better protected for what’s to come.

The post When Cities Burn: Could the Los Angeles fires happen here? appeared first on Climate Council.

This is an Australian-first report that analyses more than 20 years of historical property data alongside flood risk. It finds that today, flood-prone homes in Australia are worth $42.2 billion less than they could have been without the risk of flood.

Climate pollution from coal, oil and gas now blankets the world, trapping heat. This heat means more evaporation and an atmosphere that holds more moisture. As a result, flood risk has grown in Australia.

Climate Council partnered with PropTrack, Australia’s leading source of property insights, to analyse what this flood risk means for the individual and collective value of our properties. We found flood risk has cost Australians $42.2 billion overall, with one in six homes at risk of flooding today.

The bulk of these properties are in Queensland, where flood risk has cost homeowners $19 billion as at April, 2025. The Gold Coast ranks highest within the state, with a collective $4.5 billion in value foregone across the region. NSW follows closely behind, with more than $14 billion foregone in flood-related value.

Overall rising property prices are masking the fact that flood-prone homes are starting from a lower base and rising at a slower pace. Nationally, since 2000, the price growth gap between flood-prone homes in Australia – and those without such risks – has reached 22 percentage points. For a typical three-bedroom, two-bathroom house that equates to being valued $75,500 less. As climate-driven floods become more frequent and severe, more properties could face steeper penalties. 

Concerted action in Australia and around the world to cut climate pollution from coal, oil and gas can limit how many more homes are put at risk in the future. The insurance and banking industries are already embedding those climate risks into their business decisions. However, to date, there has been limited detail available to individual homeowners on what the risk to their greatest asset already is, as well as how that might worsen over time. Every Australian deserves to understand the climate risk that their home is already facing, as well as how those risks might increase.

No matter where we live, all Australians are paying a heavy price due to climate change. That might be because our own home is at direct risk of worsening extreme weather – like floods – or through rising insurance premiums and recovery costs. 

We have a choice about how much worse we allow this to get – and therefore, how many more Australian homes are put at risk, or lost. This is why the Australian Government must stop making this problem worse by continuing to approve new coal and gas projects by overhauling our environment laws so they are fit for purpose. Because every tonne of climate pollution is doing us damage.

Key Findings

This report presents the first national-scale evidence of the property market’s response to increasing flood risks, combining historic hazard data from the Geoscape Planning and Insights dataset with PropTrack’s real estate data.

Flood risk has cost Australians $42.2 billion, with 1 in six Australian homes at risk of flooding

• In Australia there are just over two million flood-prone homes. Of those, at least 70% experienced a reduction in value due to flood risk.
• In regions where flood risk reduces values:
  • Homes exposed to flood risk are collectively worth $42.2 billion less than they would be in the absence of flood risk.
  • A disproportionate share of this foregone value is borne by only a few regions; reflecting the geographic concentration of risk.
  • As of April 2025, the median value of a *typical home at risk of flooding is valued $75,500 lower than a typical home without flood risks.
• While prices of flood-prone homes rise over time, they often do so from a lower base and at a slower pace.
• Nationally, since 2000, the price growth gap between flood-prone and flood-free homes in Australia has reached 22 percentage points.

Queensland and New South Wales homeowners face the largest flood impacts on property value

• The bulk of properties at risk of floods are in Queensland (40%) and New South Wales (30%).
• In Queensland, the total dollar value foregone due to flood risk exceeded $19 billion as at April 2025. The Gold Coast ranks highest within the state with a collective $4.5 billion in value foregone across the region.
• NSW follows closely behind, with flood-related value of more than $14 billion foregone.
• Even high-value areas and prestigious innercity or coastal communities can see losses of more than $500,000 per home compared to nearby and comparable flood-free properties.
  • Known for its prestige beachfront properties, flood-prone houses in QLD’s Mermaid Beach – Broadbeach experience a 48% reduction in value due to flood risk, despite just 16% of houses being in flood zones, reflecting a market highly sensitive to risk perception.
  • Houses in NSW’s Bellevue Hill and Balmain show large average dollar value losses per flood-affected house.

Market behaviour and perceived vulnerability drive price outcomes

• In some regions, the risk of flooding is outweighed by features like coastal views and beachside lifestyle. For example, houses in flood zones within the Sunshine Coast’s Noosaville and Noosa Heads, Brisbane’s Cleveland, and Gold Coast’s Hope Island are typically valued higher than comparable risk-free homes.
• In regions where flood risk reduces values, price impacts appear to be shaped by perceived vulnerability with recent events having a higher impact on price than the share of homes exposed to flood risk.
• In some suburbs with a lower share of floodprone properties, property level flood penalties are much larger than suburbs with a higher share of properties that are floodprone. This may reflect the impact of recent disaster memory, insurance challenges or property-level vulnerability.

*Typical home, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house

The post Property Value Report: How climate change could worsen Australia’s $42 billion flood risk appeared first on Climate Council.

If you’re ever overcome by feelings of stress, sadness or frustration when thinking or hearing about the state of our world, then you’re far from alone. In fact, research shows more than three quarters of Australians are worried about climate change. Further, a global study found more than half of young people are feeling sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty about climate change. We’re right to be worried.

Experts stress that climate anxiety—sometimes called eco-anxiety or climate distress—is not a mental health condition, but a rational response to the reality we’re all facing. Like all emotions, climate anxiety can be experienced at varying levels of intensity, from mild concern to extreme distress. For some, these feelings can significantly impact their daily lives and mental well-being.

Staff, Councillors and Fellows at the Climate Council regularly experience these feelings working on
climate day in and day out. As experts we often get asked: Where do you find hope? How do you go on?

“To take care of the planet, I must take care of myself.”

As Councillor Professor Lesley Hughes puts it: hope is a strategy, not a feeling. While it’s completely understandable to feel distressed about the climate crisis, how we respond to these feelings matters. If left unchecked, climate anxiety can lead to unhelpful coping strategies, like tuning out entirely from climate news, defeatism, or even climate denial – rejecting the science because it’s too overwhelming. These reactions don’t just harm our mental health—they’re a handbrake to climate action.

Active hope: the space between denial and despair.

Instead, we need ‘active hope’—a mindset that acknowledges the reality of the climate crisis but keeps us moving forward. Described variously as ‘grounded hope’, ‘authentic hope’ or ‘mature hope’ by psychologists and climate activists, active hope isn’t about blind optimism. It’s about recognising the problem, imagining a better future, and taking the steps we’re capable of taking to make it happen. Active hope gives us the foundation to adopt positive coping strategies that both improve our mental health and help cut climate pollution.

This guide gives you practical tools for grounding your life in active hope—because looking after ourselves (and each other) and taking climate action go hand in hand.

WHAT IS CLIMATE ANXIETY?

Climate anxiety is a term for feelings of worry, stress, or sadness about climate change and its impacts. It isn’t a single feeling, but rather a mix of emotions, thoughts, and actions that can show up in different ways for different people.

Signs of climate anxiety may include:

1. Trouble sleeping due to climate-related thoughts
2. Feeling helpless or hopeless
3. Constant worry about the future of our planet
4. Avoiding climate news or discussions because it’s distressing
5. Feeling exhausted from engaging with climate issues

FIVE TOOLS FOR MANAGING CLIMATE ANXIETY

There are different ways we can respond to stress and anxiety, and psychologists group
them into three major coping strategies:

The five practical tools below are a mix of all three strategies. They are designed to help you channel climate anxiety into action, find emotional balance, and maintain a sense of purpose.

HELPING KIDS WITH CLIMATE ANXIETY

Young people are feeling the weight of climate change. As a parent or caregiver, you can help them manage their worries and stay engaged. Here are some tips to support your kids;

1. Acknowledge their feelings:
   Let them know it’s okay to feel worried. Avoid brushing off their concerns.
   
2. Focus on action:
   Show them examples of climate progress and what people are doing to fix the problem.
   
3. Give them ways to get involved:
   Encourage them to write to politicians, start or join a school climate club, or lobby their school to install solar power.
   
4. Be a role model:
   Show them how taking action makes a difference and is the best way to respond to climate worry.
   
5. Limit doom-scrolling:
   When seeking out news, or spending time on social media, encourage a balance between keeping up-to-date with climate news including worsening extremes and politics, and hopeful stories.

WHERE TO GET MORE HELP

Climate Anxiety Resources & Services

› Headspace: Resources and support for young people experiencing climate anxiety.
headspace.org.au

› Psychology for a Safe Climate: Provides community awareness, training and group interventions for climate emotions and distress.
psychologyforasafeclimate.org

› Australian Psychological Society (APS): Offers The Climate Change Empowerment Handbook and tip sheets on coping with climate distress.
psychology.org.au

› Beyond Blue: Information and support for managing mental health impacts of climate disasters.
beyondblue.org.au

› Phoenix Australia – Centre for Posttraumatic: Mental Health Guidance for dealing with mental health impacts of bushfires and climate-related trauma.
phoenixaustralia.org

Community Climate Support

› Local Climate Action Groups: Groups like, Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group, Yarra Climate Action Now, and other examples across the country provide a sense of community and empowerment through advocacy.

› Garden & Regeneration Groups: Landcare Australia and community garden groups help connect people with nature while making a tangible impact.
landcareaustralia.org.au

› Parent Networks: Talking with like-minded parents in groups like Parents for Climate can help process emotions and find constructive ways to raise resilient kids.
parentsforclimate.org

Professional Support

› Find a Climate-Aware Psychologist: Psychology for a Safe Climate has a directory of mental health professionals who are committed to being climate aware and provide therapeutic and group support.
psychologyforasafeclimate.org

› General Practitioners (GPs): Your local GP can provide referrals for mental health support, including subsidised sessions through the Medicare Mental Health Care Plan.

Helplines for Immediate Support

› Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 – 24/7 crisis support.

› Kids Helpline: Call 1800 55 1800 – Free counselling for young people.

› Beyond Blue: Call 1300 22 4636 – Support for anxiety, stress, and mental health concerns.

› 13YARN: Call 13 92 76 – A dedicated crisis support service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The post Climate Anxiety Toolkit appeared first on Climate Council.

The global energy transformation is gathering speed. Low-emissions energy sources (including renewables and nuclear) now generate more than 40% of the world’s electricity. In 2025, investment in renewables is set to hit AU$3.4 trillion – twice as much as global investment in coal, oil and gas. Renewable power generation is expected to overtake coal-fired generation in 2025 or 2026, with coal’s share of generation dropping below 33% for the first time in a century. By 2030, global renewable generation is expected to nearly double – meeting the combined power demand of China and the United States. Meanwhile, dozens of countries have committed to phase out fossil fuels and end subsidies that prop up coal, oil and gas.

This progress is significant, but we still have a long way to go. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must maintain and accelerate this momentum. The Trump administration’s retreat from climate leadership and its rollback of support for science and clean energy has created new headwinds. Yet many US states and companies remain committed to net zero and are driving action from the ground up.

Further, the US’s federal retreat has opened up space for other nations to lead. China has reinforced its role as an emerging clean energy powerhouse, reaffirming its commitment to climate action and the global shift to net zero. Other major economies and trading partners – such as the UK, India, the EU, Japan and South Korea – are rapidly shifting to renewables and reshaping trading prospects for Australia.

As the Australian Government considers its 2035 climate target, Australia has the opportunity to open up new, future-focused export opportunities.

Key Findings

1. In the US, states and businesses are charging ahead with action on climate change, despite opposition from the Trump administration.

• The Trump administration has committed to “drill baby drill” while cutting support for renewable power, electric vehicles and other climate solutions. However, pro-climate action states cover more than half of the US economy and population, and are committed to pushing on despite these headwinds.
• California, the US’s largest economy, is already powered by two-thirds clean energy, and has doubled down as a national leader on climate action in the wake of the Los Angeles fires this year.
• The Republican-controlled state of Texas now generates more wind power than any other US state – accounting for nearly a third of the country’s total wind generation in 2024.
• Despite shifting federal politics, US corporations remain committed to net zero: 84% are holding firm on their climate commitments and 37% are raising ambition.

2. China – the world’s second-largest economy – is pressing ahead and capitalising on the economic opportunities of renewables.

• Since 2020, China’s solar capacity has almost quadrupled and its wind capacity has doubled. China achieved its 2030 renewable energy target in 2024 – six years early.
• China’s clean energy momentum is occurring at the same time as more coal power stations are being built. However, this hasn’t translated into more coal-fired power being used. In the first half of 2025, coal generation fell by 3.4% year-on-year.
• China is also the global leader in clean technology manufacturing; supplying 80% of the world’s solar panels and 70% of electric vehicles. China’s clean energy exports are helping to cut global climate pollution and play a significant role in its economy.
• China’s climate pollution dropped in the first half of 2025, up to five years ahead of when it was expected to peak – signalling a major milestone in the worldwide shift to clean energy.

3. As the world moves toward net zero, setting a stronger 2035 climate target for Australia can unlock a $190 billion boost to our export industries and better protect Australians from worsening climate harm.

• A stronger 2035 climate target can help protect Australian lives and livelihoods from escalating extreme weather events and spiralling climate costs. It is also in our national interest to advocate for stronger climate action across the globe through trade agreements and other means.
• The growth of renewables will lock in coal’s inevitable decline in China, which is Australia’s second-largest coal export market. 
• While China is leading the clean energy charge,
• it is not alone. Other major economies and trading partners – such as the UK, India, the EU, Japan and South Korea – are rapidly shifting to renewables and reshaping trading prospects for Australia.
• Setting a stronger 2035 climate target can signal Australia is serious about shifting from a fossil fuel heavyweight to a clean export powerhouse, and unlock a $190 billion export opportunity.

The post Power Shift: The US, China and the Race to Net Zero appeared first on Climate Council.

Australians are living with the consequences of the climate crisis. We’re only half way through 2025 but, already, Australian communities have experienced back-to-back flooding in NSW and Queensland, unprecedented marine heatwaves devastating reefs in Western Australia and Queensland, a lethal algal bloom in South Australia, and deepening drought in southern Australia affecting vast areas of farming land.

These climate consequences are the result of past policy failures to curb climate pollution. For decades, pollution from coal, oil and gas has been creating a blanket of heat-trapping gasses in the atmosphere, raising the global average temperature by approximately 1.3°C above pre-industrial levels. That additional heat, caused by burning fossil coal, oil and gas, is fuelling the extreme floods, heatwaves and droughts that Australians have experienced in 2025.

This year marks a critical moment: under the Paris Agreement, nations are required to submit new 2035 targets to cut climate pollution. Collectively, these targets must slash global climate pollution fast enough to keep temperature rise within internationally agreed limits – limits designed to prevent catastrophic harm to people and ecosystems.

Strong targets are crucial to protecting Australians.

This report provides new, detailed analysis on a scientifically credible, Paris-aligned target for Australia. It finds that net zero by 2035 is the only target available to Australia with a strong chance of contributing to holding global warming below 2°C. 

Ultimately, the stronger Australia’s 2035 target, the better our chance of shielding Australians from escalating climate harm. Every fraction of a degree of global heating exposes Australian communities and industries to more frequent and ferocious extreme weather events.

The good news is: Australia can rise to this challenge.

Several credible reports have shown that strong reductions are achievable across the economy – supported by our abundant renewable energy resources, technological capacity, and skilled workforce. Already, solar and wind are cheaper than new coal and gas. Green iron production, critical minerals and sustainable fuels offer massive economic potential. With the right policy settings, these sectors can drive regional jobs, national investment, and export strength.

Australia now stands at a crossroads. The 2035 climate target soon to be set by the Australian Government is more than a number: it is a statement of who we are, what we value, and what kind of future we are willing to fight for.

Climate Council has launched a petition calling on the Australian Government to set the strongest possible 2035 climate target – and take urgent action to meet it!

Key Findings

1. Climate change is accelerating, and current global efforts – including Australia’s – are dangerously inadequate.

• Communities today are living with the consequences of past policy failures to curb climate pollution from coal, oil and gas. 
• Climate pollution has now formed a massive blanket of heat-trapping gases around the world, raising global average temperature by 1.3°C. That heat is driving more ferocious and frequent extreme weather and dramatically damaging the ecological systems that sustain human life and society. 
• Every fraction of a degree of global heating matters: the difference between 1.5°C and 2°C is existential for vulnerable communities, coral reefs, agriculture, and ecosystems. 
• While many countries are now taking measures to cut climate pollution, the combined effort is not yet at the speed or scale required to protect humanity from the worst impacts of climate change. 
• The future scale and severity of the climate crisis will depend on how quickly and deeply we slash global climate pollution.

2. Australians are already living with climate consequences – and the costs are soaring.

• In 2025, Australian communities have experienced: back-to-back flooding in New South Wales and Queensland; unprecedented marine heatwaves devastating reefs in Western Australia and Queensland, and decimating marine life in South Australia; and deepening drought in southern Australia affecting vast tracts of agricultural land. 
• Climate-fuelled disasters are expected to cost the Australian economy $94 billion a year by 2060 if pollution levels remain high, while at least 8.8% of Australian homes will be uninsurable due to high exposure to climate disasters by 2100. 
• The total insured cost of extreme weather events in Australia in the first half of 2025 has now exceeded $1.8 billion, following Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the North Queensland floods, and recent flooding on the Mid-North Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales.

3. Australia’s 2035 climate target must be very strong to be science-aligned.

• Global governments, business and scientists all agree that holding global warming well below 2°C is vital to prevent massive disruption to the global climate system. 
• New analysis shows that net zero by 2035 is the only target available to Australia with a strong chance of contributing to holding global warming below 2°C. 
• Australia is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of fossil fuels like coal and gas. Yet we were late to tackling our climate pollution, with a decade of inaction from 2013-2022. Consequently, a science-aligned reduction curve is now steep.

4. A stronger 2035 climate target will keep Australians safer. A weaker target risks more disasters, more damage and more danger.

• The Australian Government must set the strongest possible target to protect Australians from increasing climate harms with regular review opportunities to ratchet up as technology develops. 
• Analysis shows that a 2035 target of -75% or more (on 2005 levels) is aligned with more than 2°C of global heating, but likely less than 2.3°C*. 
• Weaker targets are aligned with even higher levels of global heating. Each fraction of a degree of global heating is associated with more catastrophic impacts to communities and ecosystems. 
• A -65% target is aligned with below 2.4°C of global heating. 
• Weak climate targets are an active commitment to global climate disruption and damage. Those advocating for targets that would see global heating well beyond 2°C should articulate clearly their costed plans to support, relocate and/or protect the Australian community through unprecedented socio-economic dislocation.

5. Significant economic and diplomatic opportunities can flow from a strong target.

• The cost of cutting climate pollution is dramatically less than the cost of unchecked climate change, which would cost Australia $4.2 trillion by 2070. Choosing a strong target now is far more cost-effective than attempting to adapt to escalating climate damage. 
• Setting a strong climate target sends a clear signal to investors and industry and could unlock and accelerate growth in clean technologies and green exports, projected to approach $1 trillion per year by 2050, creating over 400,000 jobs. 
• Pacific Island Countries face an existential threat to their security from the climate crisis. Australia’s security is entwined with the Pacific, but our credibility hinges on whether we are serious about climate action.

6. To protect Australians from the most significant risks of the climate crisis, we can go beyond domestic action to support global action to slash climate pollution. Australia’s Nationally Determined Contribution can include commitments to phase out fossil fuels and support global action.

• Developing clean industries that contribute to global pollution reduction, i.e. developing green iron, cathode and battery manufacturing, sustainable shipping and aviation fuels. 
• Supporting developing countries in their transition through climate finance or other mechanisms. 
• When burnt overseas, Australia’s coal, oil and gas exports release climate pollution equivalent to 2.5 times Australia’s annual climate pollution. While the Albanese Government has made clear progress cutting climate pollution domestically, it needs to go further and faster to protect Australians from the worst effects of the climate crisis by phasing out these polluting exports with our trading partners. The first step is to end new and expanded fossil fuel projects.

The post Stronger Target, Safer Future: Why Australia’s 2035 Climate Target Matters appeared first on Climate Council.

Australia’s battery opportunity

Since building our first grid-scale battery in 2017 in record time, and making international headlines, we have added another 33. There’s also more than 20 gigawatts of big battery storage in the pipeline; almost double what was planned just a year ago. In neighbourhoods all over the country, hundreds of community-scale batteries are being installed. Plus, an estimated 300,000 Aussies have added a battery to their rooftop solar at home.

As costs rapidly fall and technologies improve, battery storage of all kinds is set to boom across Australia as we benefit from bill savings, further cuts to climate pollution and a more reliable grid. Our analysis shows more than two million batteries can be added at a household level, which would
collectively save Australians more than $4 billion a year on their power bills.

Homes with batteries are seeing the benefits first-hand: a home battery can almost double the power bill savings for homes with rooftop solar, up to $2300 a year, or 90 per cent of a typical family power bill. Since coming onto the market in 2015, more than 300,000 households have added a battery. Unlike one-off energy rebates, home batteries permanently bust power bills and slash climate pollution. They also ease demand on the grid in peak times and reduce the need for more transmission, putting downward pressure on power bills for everyone. As communities across Australia experience more frequent and intense climate-fuelled disasters, batteries can keep our homes, businesses and communities going even when power supply is disrupted.

As the world’s top producer of lithium, both the public and private sectors are already investing significantly to unlock this economic opportunity and create more local jobs by manufacturing and reprocessing batteries here in Australia.

With so much work already underway to power Australia with cheaper and cleaner renewables and storage, now is the time to build on this momentum and ramp up battery storage to match our world-leading rates of rooftop solar. With targeted policies, we can make the most of this enormous opportunity.

Key Findings

1. Rooftop solar and batteries are a permanent bill buster, and Australians can collectively save more than $4 billion on their power bills every year if we install two million more batteries in our homes and businesses by 2030.

• There is enormous potential to roll out more home batteries, with 8 per cent of the four million Australian households with solar currently storing their excess solar power with a battery. 
• Pairing a battery with rooftop solar almost doubles a household’s savings: up to $2300 less per year on power bills for the average family, compared to $1500 in savings with solar only. 
• Climate Council’s analysis shows that with additional policies, we can add two million batteries to households and businesses by 2030. If we do so, that would collectively save Australians more than $4 billion on their power bills each year.
• Households could boost their savings even more by using the battery in an electric vehicle (EV) to store power and send it back to the grid using vehicle-to-grid technology, cutting out their petrol or diesel costs by around $2000 a year.

2. Australia is on the brink of a battery boom. Solar is already more common in our suburbs than the backyard pool, and the potential for storage in the outskirts of our cities is also enormous.

• Overall, our battery storage capacity has more than doubled within the past three years to more than 3 gigawatts (GW).
• South Australia is smashing it across the board with battery installations at all scales, while Western Australia now has more big batteries than any other state or territory. Meanwhile, the Northern Territory leads the way in the highest proportion of homes with solar and a battery, and Victoria takes the medal for the most community-scale batteries.
• Nationally, we will need 49 GW of battery and pumped hydro storage by 2050 – or more than 15 times our existing battery storage capacity – made up of household batteries, community-scale batteries, big batteries and pumped hydro.
• The top three spots nationally for home battery potential are Tarneit in Victoria, and Bundaberg and Hervey Bay in Queensland – together, these suburbs have enormous battery potential with more than 64,000 rooftop solar systems.
• Vehicle-to-grid technology is a transformative opportunity that can turn our suburbs into mobile storage centres. By connecting EVs to our homes and the grid we could unlock more battery capacity than any other form of storage. 

3. Batteries are getting cheaper and better at breakneck speed making them accessible and feasible for more Australians.

• Globally, battery prices have fallen 86 per cent since 2013. This is mostly due to a significant drop in lithium prices, which is a key material in most batteries.
• In 2024-25, the upfront cost of big batteries fell 20 per cent. In contrast, the cost of gas generation jumped up 11 per cent over the same period. 
• On average, it is expected to take an Australian 8.3 years to recover the cost of purchasing a battery (as of 2024), down from a 10-year “payback period” in 2022, and 19 years in 2016. This is expected to drop further as demand grows and technology improves. Federal rebates may accelerate this trend.
• In the eight years since we switched on our first big battery (Hornsdale in South Australia in 2017) we have added 33 more, on top of more than 300,000 home batteries and 500 community-scale batteries.
• In our main grid, batteries can make up 5 per cent of our power supply at high-demand times. In some parts of the country, batteries are already powering up to 30 per cent of demand (in South Australia) and 20 per cent of demand (in Western Australia) with records regularly set and broken for how much energy batteries are both charging and discharging.

4. Batteries not only help cut climate pollution and save families money on power bills, but also make our electricity system more reliable as climate change accelerates.

• Backed up by storage, renewable generation not only keeps electricity more reliable and affordable, it also protects Australians against international price shocks caused by volatility in the coal, oil and gas markets. 
• Home batteries and the batteries in EVs are already coming to the rescue of Australian communities by powering essential services and appliances when power supply is disrupted in severe weather events like fires, storms and floods that are accelerating due to climate pollution.
• Batteries in microgrids are helping remote communities switch away from fossil fuels like diesel, and giving them more control over their energy.

5. As the climate crisis unfolds all around us, the race is on to cut climate pollution further and faster this decade. Batteries are a key solution and present a major economic opportunity for Australia.

• Climate pollution is already increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events across the country: 80 per cent of Australians have experienced some form of disaster in recent years. 
• We need to cut climate pollution rapidly this decade by getting off coal and gas. Batteries will unlock Australia’s renewable potential as our energy system transforms and ensure we have reliable access to clean power whenever we need it.
• With global lithium demand set to increase more than 10-fold between now and 2040 our lithium resources offer significant economic opportunities, including job creation, technological advancements, and enhanced energy security. 
• Although Australia produces around half of the world’s lithium, we export nearly all of it. We can create more local jobs and economic value by manufacturing batteries here at home.
• Governments can spread the benefits of rooftop solar across our community by ramping up all types of batteries and helping Australians access vehicle-to-grid technology.

The post Battery Boom: Supercharging Australia’s Renewable Rollout appeared first on Climate Council.

Key findings

1. This election, Australians made a resounding choice: keep powering on with renewables and storage.

• Already, 40% of our national electricity grid is powered by renewables and storage. At the 2025 election, Australians endorsed the progress that’s already been made by the first term Labor (ALP) government, and backed a renewable-powered future.
• Nuclear bombed at the ballot. It was politically toxic, especially with women and undecided voters.
• The ALP’s two-party preferred support increased in most seats with offshore wind debates, despite significant campaigns against the projects.
• By the next election, Australia’s main grid is expected to be more than two-thirds powered with renewables and storage – making this switch unstoppable.

2. There is a fundamental shift in Australian politics. Climate change is now a fixture of Australian elections, and a large voting block prioritises climate champions at the ballot box.

• Climate concern has remained persistently high across swathes of the Australian community, in spite of the cost-of-living crunch.
• Three-quarters of Millennials and Generation Z voters named climate change as a top tier voting issue for the 2025 election. This climate voting bloc is now the largest – and still growing – group of Australian voters.
• For ALP voters, climate change was a top 2 issue in this election.
• Pro-climate independents have won more votes than ever before, with a 3.8% increase in their primary vote across contested seats.
• The Australian Greens is likely to hold the balance of power in the Senate, providing a path to pass stronger climate laws through the upper house.

3. The Federal Coalition’s sweeping defeat points to the party being unelectable until it advances credible climate and energy policies.

• The ALP held a 17 percentage point lead over the Coalition as the party most trusted to “address climate change”.
• The Coalition’s inner-city heartland has been decimated as pro-climate independent incumbents retaining their seats from the 2022 Federal Election, signaling a lasting shift in voter priorities.
• New community independent challengers performed strongly in 10 traditionally safe Liberal and National seats. These are the next wave of seats at risk for the Coalition in 2028.

4. Australians have given the ALP its strongest mandate since World War II to roll out more renewable power and storage, better regulate polluters and set new, stronger climate targets.

The post Election 2025: Unpacking the impact of climate and energy on Australian voters appeared first on Climate Council.

key findings

1. The climate crisis is at our front door with more than two million properties already at moderate to high risk of worsening extreme weather driven by climate pollution.

• HIGH RISK: Our analysis shows 652,424 properties (4.4% or one in 23) across the country are already at High Risk in 2025 from one or more hazards – properties for which insurance is often already unaffordable or unavailable.
• MODERATE RISK: Another 1.55 million properties (10.4%) nationally are at Moderate Risk – for which insurance costs will be abnormally high. That’s one in 10.
• Extreme weather events have become more frequent and severe due to pollution from coal, oil and gas. This is increasing costs for all home owners in Australia through higher repair and maintenance bills and sky-rocketing insurance.
• When insurance is withdrawn at a regional scale this devalues people’s largest financial asset, can undermine the property market and puts our broader economy at risk because mortgages now make up such a large part of the banking sector.

2. Climate impacts are endangering all Australians, but some communities are highly exposed and face far greater risks today.

• More than 72,000 Australian homes and businesses, across 86 suburbs, are situated in “critical climate risk zones” where 80-100% of properties are classified as high risk and the level of expected damage is likely to be widespread.
• When so many properties within a suburb are at high risk all properties in that area become difficult to insure. Responding to such a critical level of risk is beyond any individual, and requires significant and urgent intervention by all levels of government carried out in partnership with impacted communities.
• Outside of these zones, almost 590,000 other properties around the country are also identified as high risk. This means they are already at risk of becoming uninsurable – or soon will be – with projected annual damage costs equivalent to 1% or more of the property replacement cost.
• The most at-risk federal electorates today (based on the number of properties already at high risk) are Dobell, Richmond, Hunter, Page and Robertson in New South Wales, Nicholls in Victoria, Mayo in South Australia, Maranoa and Brisbane in Queensland, and Bullwinkel in Western Australia.
• Communities along the New South Wales coast stretching from the Northern Rivers to the Central Coast are a climate risk epicenter, with a large number of critical climate risk zones and a number of the top 10 most at-risk electorates concentrated here.

3. Past failure to cut climate pollution fast enough has resulted in more Australians and their properties being put in harm’s way, and rising insurance costs for us all.

• Since 1990, 80,000 properties across the nation were added to the High Risk category primarily driven by worsening climate risks.
• By 2050, High Risk properties are expected to grow to 746,185 (or 5% of addresses analysed) and more than 1.3 million properties by 2100 (or 8.8%).
• Worsening climate extremes are exacerbating household cost of living pressures. Research shows that as insurance premiums become more unaffordable more people are choosing to “underinsure” by excluding cover for certain hazards, or going without insurance. Many of the households facing the greatest risk from climate change don’t have the finances to make their homes more resilient, move to safer areas, or get back on their feet once their homes are damaged.
• As insurance falls out of reach for more people, there is a growing risk of substantial devaluation as High Risk properties (which in 2025 make up 4.4% of addresses analysed) become more costly to own and harder to sell.
• These High Risk properties now require urgent attention to better protect them and those who live there from physical damage caused by worsening extreme weather, and financially from a potential crash in sale value.

4. We can’t insure our way out of the climate crisis. We must urgently cut climate pollution as far and fast as we can this decade, and get more people out of harm’s way with an immediate, national response to protect those already at critical risk.

• All governments must stop making this problem worse by prolonging the use of coal, oil or gas.
• State and Federal governments must proactively manage remaining options for communities in critical risk zones, like managed retreats or buy backs, given the scale of economic and social costs now facing communities.
• Climate-proofing or re-locating properties outside of these zones, which are already at high risk or soon will be, should be prioritised where it makes economic sense to do so.

5. Up-to-date information must be provided to all Australians so they can assess the risks they face.

• Australians need access to the most up-to-date risk information, guidance on what to do to protect their home, and better access to financial assistance where their house is at high risk.
• When pricing premiums, insurance companies must disclose what they know about climate change risks to their customers and consistently and transparently account for the steps being taken to better protect properties and communities.

The post At our front door: Escalating climate risks for Aussies homes appeared first on Climate Council.

That’s where the Climate Council Choice Awards come in. We have selected 11 renewable energy and storage projects that are giving back to communities in meaningful ways to receive an Award.

Award winners

The Climate Council Choice Award winners are all unique – just like the communities they are based in. But they each demonstrate how wind, solar and storage projects are benefiting Australians in innovative ways to meet the needs of local communities.

These are just a few of many fantastic projects out there already. There are many more in the pipeline!

Solar Saver: Haystacks Solar Garden, Riverina, New South Wales

Haystacks Solar Garden is the first solar garden in Australia – leading the way to show how we can unlock the benefits of solar for people renting and living in apartments with community-owned renewables.

Women in Renewables: Bomen Solar Farm , near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales

Bomen Solar Farm’s ‘Women in Solar’ program shows how the industry can combat traditional barriers to employment in the energy sector, by directly helping women gain new skills, experience and qualifications for future employment in energy.

Energy Equity: South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant, connecting social housing properties across South Australia

South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant is leading the way to show how governments can help lower power bills for citizens who are doing it tough (in this case: those living in social housing), while also helping to provide more clean power to the community and strengthening the energy grid.

Greener Grazing: New England Solar Farm, Uralla, New South Wales

The New England Solar Farm demonstrates how renewables can happily coexist with farming. As one of Australia’s newest and largest solar farms, it’s providing ideal grazing conditions for around 6,500 sheep and lambs.

Empowering First Nations: Marlinja Microgrid, Marlinja, Northern Territory

The Marlinja Microgrid is leading the way for other projects to help First Nations communities take control of their power. It is the first First Nations community-owned and grid connected renewable energy project in Australia, and will enable First Nations pre-paid meter customers to benefit directly from their own solar investment; working in a similar way to the benefits enjoyed by households with rooftop solar. 

People-Powered: Totally Renewable Yackandandah, Yackandandah, Victoria

Totally Renewable Yackandandah is punching well above its weight and showing how a small, volunteer-led group can achieve amazing things. We are especially big fans of its Virtual Power Plant, which generates and stores clean power and gives it back to the Yack minigrid so other locals can access it.

Brighter Futures: Victorian Big Battery (VBB), Geelong, Victoria

VB is already a household brand, but wait until you hear about VBB. It’s one of the world’s biggest batteries, and empowers future generations by supporting science and sustainability initiatives at a local school, and funds a scholarship for diverse students to pursue a career in STEM through Deakin University.

Trailblazing Towns: Denmark Community Wind Farm in Western Australia and Hepburn Community Wind Farm in Victoria

The Denmark and Hepburn community-owned wind farms have been powering their communities for more than 10 years. They were ahead of the curve in showing what’s possible to achieve when a small group of passionate, hard-working people join forces to help their community and the planet.

Workforce Ready: Karadoc Solar Farm, near Mildura, Victoria

Karadoc Solar Farm shows how renewable power projects can actively contribute to employment in regional communities. More than 300 locals worked on its constructionhere, all from diverse backgrounds, as part of its construction and it has also helped 25 apprentices start careers in solar.

Dream Team: Kennedy Energy Park, Queensland

Kennedy Energy Park is the first in the world to combine the dream team of wind, solar and battery storage all in one place. It is also doing its bit to support local sports teams, among many other initiatives that are revitalising the community.

The post Climate Council Choice Awards: solar, wind and storage projects that set the bar appeared first on Climate Council.

To help Australians make informed decisions at the ballot box, the Climate Council has released its election report and scorecard of Australia’s biggest political parties: ‘Climate Crossroads: Progress, Politics and a Pivotal Election’.

The report assesses the track records and promises of the major parties and key crossbenchers, based on expert analysis of policy platforms and voting history. The findings:

The Liberal–National Coalition is rated Harmful

The Australian Labor Party is rated Right direction

The Australian Greens are rated Strong

The report finds that voters have a clear choice: between Labor, which has a credible plan to cut climate pollution, and the Federal Coalition, which is proposing polluting policies that will put more of us in harm’s way. 

Key findings:

1. We analysed the climate record and election policies of Australia’s major parties, and found that the Albanese Labor Government has delivered clear progress, and the Liberal- National Coalition ranks the worst on climate change. 

• The Albanese Labor Government made clear progress on renewable energy, clean transport and climate targets in this term of Parliament, and have credible policies to deliver in the next. However, Labor’s approval of 26 coal, oil and gas developments undermined their record, and they have no clear plans to phase out future fossil fuel development. Rating: Right Direction. 
• The Liberal-National Coalition voted against every law to cut climate pollution in the past three years and their policies would increase climate pollution by at least 6.3 billion tonnes. Rating: Harmful. 
• The Australian Greens have the strongest climate policies of all parties. Rating: Strong. 
• Independents made valuable contributions to strengthening climate action during the past three years, and their influence is only expected to grow in the likely event of a hung parliament. 

2. The last Parliament performed a major u-turn on climate, with significant progress made. The next Parliament could get us on track this decade. 

• At the last election in 2022, Australia was a global climate pariah, following nine years of inaction under successive Liberal-National Governments. Renewable power investment had stalled, climate science had been cut, and Australia had no credible policies to reduce climate pollution. 
• Three years later and Australia is nearly halfway to powering our nation with renewable power, and commands significant international respect. 
• Australians are already paying dearly for the failure of former governments, here and around the world, to slash climate pollution. The severity of events we face into the future rests entirely on how quickly and deeply the world cuts pollution from coal, oil and gas. 
• The next term of Parliament will be crucial to protect our kids’ future. Crucial to slashing climate pollution, building a 21st century energy system and building the clean industries that can power jobs and communities for decades to come. 

3. The Albanese Labor Government made significant progress cutting climate pollution and ramping up renewables, but failed to curb fossil fuel expansion. Key milestones included: 

• Cutting Australia’s expected 2030 climate pollution by 39 million tonnes, and strengthening our target to a 43% cut this decade (up from 26-28% under the previous government). 
• Adopting a renewable energy target of 82% this decade, and unlocking $87 billion of public and private investment in renewable power, storage and transmission. 
• Creating vehicle standards to ensure new cars use less petrol and release less pollution, and investing $100 million in active transport infrastructure, like safer bike lanes. 
• Setting stricter limits on Australia’s biggest industrial polluters via reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism. 
• During this term, Labor approved 26 new coal, oil and gas developments and broke a key election promise to fix Australia’s environment laws, instead weakening them. Labor has no clear plan to limit fossil fuel development, which substantially undermines their policies to cut climate pollution. 
• If elected, the Labor party has promised to:
  • Continue efforts to cut climate pollution by 43% on 2005 levels this decade, and legislate a 2035 target. 
  • Double Australia’s renewable power backed by storage to 82% this decade and has announced clear policies and investments to achieve this. 
  • Continue delivering the New Vehicle Efficiency Scheme, giving Australians access to cleaner and cheaper-to-run new cars. 
  • Reform our national environment laws and deliver a federal environment protection agency, which it failed to deliver this term. 
• While encouraging, the Labor Government’s progress does not go far enough or fast enough to do our fair share in limiting global heating to well under 2 degrees and protect Australian’s from the worst impacts of climate change. 

4. Crossbenchers, including the Australian Greens and community independents, pushed the Labor Government to deliver stronger climate reforms. 

• Independents successfully secured key amendments to strengthen the Climate Change Bill 2022 and advocated for greater household electrification support. 
• Crossbenchers also attempted to progress other reforms – to ensure our targets are science-aligned, prevent new coal and gas projects, and better regulate big polluters – which were ultimately blocked. 
• The Australian Greens supported every single climate action bill and secured a number of important amendments, including placing a hard cap on climate pollution from big polluters, preventing certain public funds from supporting coal and gas projects, and protecting clean energy investment from future government rollbacks. 
• A strong, pro-climate crossbench could further strengthen Australia’s climate policy in the next parliamentary term, particularly in the likely event of a hung parliament. 

5. The Liberal-National Coalition voted against every law to cut climate pollution in the past three years. Their policies for this election would increase climate pollution by at least 6.3 billion tonnes. Their policies have been rated as Harmful. 

• The Coalition failed to support a single improvement in climate policy throughout the 47th Parliamentary term. 
• If elected, the Federal Coalition plans to:
  • Abandon Australia’s climate pollution reduction target of 43% by 2030. 
  • Introduce a nuclear scheme that would lock in at least two billion more tonnes of pollution from coal, oil and gas. 
  • Provide $1.3 billion in funding for the gas industry, and ramp up polluting gas production by fast-tracking approval of new gas projects and expanding existing gas projects, including the North West Shelf in WA.1 
  • Undermine support for renewable power by cutting $20 billion in funding for essential grid upgrades, weaken pollution standards for vehicles and wind back regulation on industrial polluters. 

The Coalition has no credible plans to cut climate pollution. Together the Coalition’s policies would dramatically increase climate pollution, driving more frequent and damaging extreme weather. 

Social media content

We created a suite of social media content for you/your organisation to download and share amongst your networks. Click here to see our full social media pack for assets, suggested captions, and more!

Help us get the word out: We’ve created a series of downloadable posters showing how the different parties stack up on climate this election. Print them at home and pop them in your window, on a community notice board and anywhere else that shows your community exactly who – and what – we’re being asked to vote for this election (just check you’ve got permission first!).

Climate Council is non-partisan and advocates for evidence-based policies that will progress science-aligned climate action.

Authorised by Amanda McKenzie, Climate Council of Australia Ltd, 1 Nicholson St, East Melbourne.

The post Climate Crossroads: Progress, Politics and a Pivotal Election appeared first on Climate Council.