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Climate change has been a major issue in Australia since the early 2000's, and has required government intervention with various policies including: reducing emissions by boosting energy productivity, reducing waste, rehabilitating degraded land, increasing renewable energy and driving innovation, in order to meet its climate change targets. However, in previous years climate change in Australia hasn't been a major point of discussion by the Government; with other topics (refugees, education and the economy) receiving greater attention.
Yet, Australia faces significant environmental and economic impacts due to climate change across a number of sectors, including water security, agriculture, coastal communities, and infrastructure. In the coming years climate change will cause an increase in the frequency and intensity of various weather events including cyclones, bushfires, tidal surge, drought etc. Furthermore, rising sea levels and storm surges pose a significant threat to coastal communities within the Pacific. These increases can have devastating effects because when seawater reaches farther inland, it can cause destructive erosion, flooding of wetlands, contamination of aquifers and agricultural soils, and lost habitat for fish, birds, and plants. Rising sea levels also have great impacts on the world's oceans, with ocean water becoming to acidic to support coral reefs and other calcifying marine organisms.
According to the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, "the Australian Government is investing in programs such as the Australian Climate Change Science Program and the Natural Resource Management Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Research Program to help decision-makers understand and manage likely climate change impacts."
http://www.news.com.au/national/csiro-study-projects-climate-change-effects-across-australia/story-fncynjr2-1226476054411
