IAG has expressed its support for the environmental report released by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) as continued investment in research would help to improve Australia's resilience to natural hazards and major weather events.
The State of the Climate report by the BOM and CSIRO draws on the latest climate research encompassing observations, analyses, and projections to describe year-to-year variability and longer-term changes in Australia's climate.
Mark Leplastrier, the executive manager natural perils at IAG, said the latest State of the Climate report highlights the need for the industry to take action now.
“The science is telling us that the impacts of climate change are already affecting Australian communities. This is something we observed in the second edition of our Severe Weather in a Changing Climate report,” Leplastrier said.
“The trends we're seeing reflected in this new report, as well as our Severe Weather report, show Australia should expect more severe and frequent climate extremes in the form of devastating bushfires, storms, floods and sea-level rise.”
IAG has been studying the impact of climate change for nearly 20 years. It has also worked with the government, communities, and other organisations to advocate for increasing risk mitigation to ensure that Australians can reduce and manage the risks they face.
“It's critical that we continue sharing the latest science and climate information to inform how we plan for and mitigate the impacts of these severe weather events to make homes and communities safer and more resilient. This includes how we think about building resilience into land planning and building codes, ways to retrofit existing homes, as well as how we respond to these major weather events to keep our communities safe,” Leplastrier concluded.
