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Climate change to wipe $571 billion from property market: report

The report warned billions would be lost due to worsening and erratic weather events.

The report warned billions would be lost due to worsening and erratic weather events. Photo: AAP

Australia’s property market could lose $571 billion in value in the next decade due to the impact of climate change and extreme weather, a new report warns.

The Climate Council document also found the risk for Queensland was double that of other states and territories.

Report author and climate risk expert Dr Karl Mallon argued billions would be lost by 2030 if greenhouse gas emissions remained high and adequate action wasn’t taken.

“This is the largest analysis of property risk from climate change ever undertaken in Australia and uses the latest data from our universities,” Dr Mallon said on Thursday.

“Queensland is on the front line of climate change impacts in Australia and the Gold Coast, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast local government areas have been identified as among highest risk to extreme weather and climate change because they are very exposed to flooding and coastal inundation.”

Dr Mallon also suggested that, on current trends, one in every 19 property owners would face the prospect of “effectively unaffordable” home insurance premiums by 2030.

climate change report

Coastal areas would be particularly hard hit, the report predicted. Photo: AAP

The report also found extreme weather events, such as heat waves and floods, were affecting agriculture and food production.

It estimated 1 per cent of gross domestic product could be lost due each year to increasingly severe and more frequent drought conditions.

On current trends, climate change impacts are projected to reduce agricultural and labour productivity by $19 billion by 2030 and by $211 billion by 2050, the report says.

But fellow report author and University of Melbourne economist Tom Kompas said that figure could swell to $4 trillion in the next 80 years.

“This is not a trivial figure – it is more than double Australia’s current gross domestic product,” Professor Kompas said.

-AAP

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