Australian Climate Commission Reports

Reports

These reports form the basis of two and a half years of activity by the Climate Commission informing the Australian public on the impacts of climate change. The Climate Commission website was shut down on 27 September 2013 by the Government lead by Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The website was archived by the National Library.

Featured report

The Critical Decade: Australia’s future – solar energy

In November 2012 the Climate Commission’s report The Critical Decade: Generating a renewable Australia showed there is enormous potential for renewable energy in Australia. Our latest report The Critical Decade: Australia’s future solar energy identifies the enormous, but largely underutilised, potential for solar generation in the world’s sunniest continent. This report provides an overview of the rapidly changing […] Read more…

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Major reports

The Critical Decade 2013

Two years ago the Climate Commission warned that 2011-2020 is the ‘Critical Decade’ for tackling climate change. In particular, this is the Critical Decade for turning around rising emissions of greenhouse gases and putting us on the pathway to stabilising the climate system. Key Facts | Summary | Full report

The Critical Decade: Global Action Building on Climate Change

The Critical Decade: Global Action Building on Climate Change presents an overview of progress in international action on climate change since August 2012, with a particular focus on China and the US. The report also considers progress in Australia, as it is one of the 20 countries contributing most of the world’s emissions. Key Findings | Full Report

The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather

When extreme weather events occur the Climate Commission is consistently asked questions about the link to climate change. This report unpacks our current knowledge about different types of extreme weather events: extreme temperatures, rainfall, drought, bushfires, storm surges, cyclones and storms. Key Facts | Summary Table | Full Report

The Critical Decade: Generating a renewable Australia

Energy is fundamental to the way we live, our economy, and our future. For many years, we have used cheap and abundant fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas to produce most of our energy. more…

The Critical Decade: International Action on Climate Change

This is the Climate Commission’s third major report and follows a series of reports on the science and impacts of climate change and the opportunities in Australia associated with taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. more…

The Critical Decade: Climate change and health

The Climate Commission has released its second major report, The Critical Decade: Climate change and health. The report is a comprehensive and up to date synthesis of the expected impacts of climate change on the health of Australians. Key Messages | Full Report

The Critical Decade: Climate science, risks and responses

Over many decades thousands of scientists have painted an unambiguous picture: the global climate is changing and humanity is almost surely the primary cause. Key Messages | Full Report

Regional reports

Renewable energy South Australia

Energy is fundamental to the way we live, our economy and our future. Like Australia’s other states and territories, South Australia has relied mainly on gas and coal to produce its electricity. more…

Queensland climate impacts and opportunities

Queensland’s climate is already changing and is likely to change further in the future, posing significant risks for the state. more…

Victorian climate impacts and opportunities

Victoria’s climate is already changing and is likely to change further in the future, posing significant risks to the state. more…

Climate impacts and opportunities for NSW

New South Wales (NSW) is home to over a third of Australians, 31% of the national economy and is highly vulnerable to climate change. more…

Impacts and opportunities for Tasmania

Over many decades thousands of scientists have painted an unambiguous picture: the global climate is changing and humanity is almost surely the primary cause. more…

Climate change impacts for Gippsland

Gippsland is vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate. Changes in rainfall patterns pose challenges for water supply and agriculture, while higher temperatures increase the risk of large and intense bushfires. more…

Climate change impacts for Western Australia

Over many decades thousands of scientists have painted an unambiguous picture: the global climate is changing and humanity is almost surely the primary cause. more…

Illawarra/NSW south coast climate change impacts

The Climate Commission has released an climate change impact statement for the Illawarra and NSW south coast. The impact statement accompanies The Critical Decade report and highlights key climate change impacts for the Illawarra/NSW south coast region more…

Climate change impacts for northwest NSW

The Climate Commission has released an climate change impact statement for New England and Northwest NSW. more…

Climate change impacts for South Australia

This document accompanies The Critical Decade report and highlights the key impacts for South Australia. more…

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Short reports

The Angry Summer

The Climate Commission has received questions from the community and the media seeking to understand the influence of climate change on the recent extreme summer weather. Key Facts | Angry Summer Report | Angry Summer graphics

The Earth continues to warm

The Climate Commission has today released a briefing paper that corrects the confusion and confirms that the Earth continues to warm at an alarming rate. more…

Climate Commission: The Year in Review 2012

The Climate Commission was established in 2011 to provide Australians with an independent and reliable source of information about climate change. more…

Off the Charts: Extreme Australian summer heat

Australia is a land of extremes. As global temperature rises, very hot days are becoming more frequent and heatwaves are becoming more prolonged across many parts of Australia. more…

Was Hurricane Sandy influenced by climate change?

Hurricane Sandy has been causing devastation across the eastern United States in recent days with flooding and widespread power blackouts. The massive size of the storm has prompted many in the public and the media to ask the Climate Commission about the influence of climate change on Hurricane Sandy. more…

Loss of sea ice indicates global risks from climate change

Strong warming in the northern high latitudes is causing Arctic sea ice to rapidly melt. It’s one of several changes in the Arctic region, including increased melting of the Greenland ice sheet and permafrost in northern Russia and Alaska, which pose serious risks for the world as a whole. more…

The science behind southeast Australia’s cool, wet summer

Most parts of Australia have experienced exceptionally heavy rains over the past two years, filling many dams around the country and breaking the drought of 1997-2009. There has been much confusion in the media about what this means for climate change. This report seeks to set the record straight. more…

Climate Commission: A year in review (2011)

The Climate Commission was established in 2011 to provide Australians with an independent and reliable source of information about climate change. more…

Carbon pricing – a brief overview

There is no doubt that the climate is changing and that failing to take sufficient action today entails huge potential risks to our society, economy and way of life. Most Australians, most businesses and both sides of politics agree that we need to reduce pollution and address climate change responsibly. more…