A new Climate Council report, released on Thursday, projects that Australia faces $855.1 billion in economic losses by the end of the century due to coastal flooding. The report forecasts that over 267,000 coastal properties and 2 million hectares of Australian land will be damaged by flooding by 2100 as sea levels rise.
The states with the highest number of homes at risk are Queensland (93,157 properties), New South Wales (71,210), and Western Australia (51,366). Metropolitan areas expected to be worst affected include the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Melbourne.
The Gold Coast is projected to face $84.4 billion in economic losses, while in Melbourne, losses are concentrated in low-lying areas around Port Phillip Bay and the Yarra River. The report's modelling, co-authored by Professor Tom Kompas at the University of Melbourne, estimates $274.3 billion in property losses and $580.7 billion in land use damages. These figures are considered conservative and do not account for coastal erosion or significant ice sheet melt.
The report also highlights a potential food security issue, with damage projected to affect 619,713 hectares of farming land. Sea levels have risen by over 22cm globally since 1900, with an additional 14cm rise expected in Australia by 2050.