Floods, Bushfires, Cyclones: How Climate Change In Australia Is Making Home Insurance Unaffordable - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Key Points

Insurance premiums have surged due to climate change[1] Extreme weather events tripled insurance claim costs[2] Flooding is Australia's costliest climate peril[3] Many households face insurance affordability stress[4] High-risk areas risk becoming uninsurable[5] Policy action is needed to safeguard coverage[6]

Climate change is dramatically reshaping the insurance landscape across Australia, driving up costs in ways now impossible to ignore.

As extreme weather becomes more frequent and severe, insurers have responded by raising premiums, withdrawing coverage in high-risk zones, and indexing claims to rising repair costs.^[2]

Floods, bushfires, and cyclones have generated record-breaking damage, more than tripling annual insurance claims compared with past decades.^[3]

This has left thousands of Australian households, especially in vulnerable regions, struggling with unaffordable or unavailable insurance.^[4]

For many, insurance premiums now consume weeks of household income each year, with severe affordability stress and rising protection gaps.^[4]

Insurers warn that without major investment in adaptation and resilience, as much as 1 in 25 properties could become uninsurable within years.^[5]

The challenge is political, economic, and social: the cost of living and the stability of property markets now hinge on decisive climate policy and smarter risk management.^[6]

The stakes for both homeowners and the national economy are escalating, with insurers, government, and communities all seeking solutions.^[6]

Rising Premiums and Costs

Climate change has caused insurance premiums to rise far above the rate of inflation in every capital city, putting pressure on household budgets nationwide.^[1]

The average home insurance premium climbed by at least 14% between 2022 and 2023, with riskier regions facing increases of 66% since 2020.^[1]

Floods, fires, and storms triggered over $7 billion in claims in 2022 alone, almost doubling previous records.^[2]

Insurance losses from declared catastrophes now amount to 0.7% of GDP, compared to just 0.2% from 1995-2000.^[2]

Insurance Council data shows average annual claims from extreme weather more than doubled over five years, now exceeding $4.5 billion annually.^[2]

Rising repair and construction costs further exacerbate premiums for homes, workplaces, and businesses.^[2]

Insurer profits have not kept pace with premium growth, meaning rising claims and reinsurance costs are not simply absorbed.^[2]

This multi-layered pressure means insurance cost increases vastly outstrip the Consumer Price Index in every major city.^[1]

Extreme Weather: The Main Driver

Flooding is now the costliest natural disaster peril facing Australia, accounting for the majority of recent insurance payouts.^[3]

Data from the Insurance Council reveals 1.2 million properties face some level of flood risk, with about 230,000 properties enduring a 1-in-20 annual chance of inundation.^[3]

Bushfires, cyclones, hailstorms, and severe storms also contribute to rising insurance claims, impacting households across the nation.^[3]

The surge in extreme events has forced insurers to refine risk modelling, increasing premiums and reducing affordable coverage in disaster-prone regions.^[3]

Major individual events, such as the 2023 Christmas storms and ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper, generated claims averaging tens of thousands of dollars per property.^[3]

The growing frequency and intensity of natural hazards directly reflect global warming trends, with impacts spread nationwide.^[3]

Policy experts say worsening extreme weather remains the single greatest threat to insurance affordability and accessibility.^[3]

Australia's climate crisis is now a lived experience for millions, not just a future risk.^[3]

Affordability Stress and Protection Gap

Nearly one in eight Australian households, about 1.25 million, experience “insurance affordability stress,” paying over four weeks gross income on annual premiums.^[4]

One in twenty households faces even greater hardship, spending more than seven weeks of annual income just to insure their homes.^[4]

Insurance costs vary sharply by geography, with northern regions and cyclone-exposed areas often paying double the premiums of southern states.^[4]

Insurers have started withdrawing coverage entirely from some high-risk flood and bushfire zones, leaving communities exposed.^[5]

This protection gap endangers household wealth, mortgage access, and property values, challenging the very foundation of asset security.^[5]

Industry data suggest 4% of Australian properties are high-risk and another 10% face abnormal insurance costs due to climate-related claims.^[5]

Climate experts say over 80% of homes in some suburbs may soon be uninsurable, with managed retreat and relocation becoming urgent topics.^[5]

Without market and policy reform, the protection gap could destabilise housing and financial systems both regionally and nationally.^[5]

Where To From Here?

Insurers and regulators emphasise that effective, multi-level policy action is essential to preserving affordable coverage as climate risks escalate.^[6]

Solutions highlighted include better land-use planning, stronger building codes, and public investment in resilience—such as improved flood defences and home strengthening programs.^[6]

Government intervention, like the $10 billion cyclone pool, has delivered modest impacts but requires ongoing review and calibration.^[6]

Insurers advocate transparent consumer information, incentivising private investment in household resilience, and public funding mechanisms for high-risk zones.^[6]

Adaptation, mitigation, and managed retreat are politically sensitive, but increasingly necessary as insurance withdrawal accelerates in climate-exposed areas.^[6]

Many experts warn that the traditional insurance model can no longer handle the nonlinear impacts of climate change.^[6]

The challenge is urgent and ongoing: how to provide fair, affordable, and sustainable protection in an era of climate volatility.^[6]

Policy, consumers, and insurers must work together to close the protection gap and build a more resilient future for all Australians.^[6]

References

1. Australia and NZ face home insurance crisis due to climate, Green Central Banking, 2025
2. Extreme weather costs triple in Australia as insurers face rising claims, Insurance Business Magazine, 2025
3. Insurers incurred $2.19bn in claims from extreme weather in 2023-24: ICA, Reinsurance News, 2024
4. Premium price: The impact of climate change on insurance costs, The Australia Institute, 2024
5. Scores of suburbs risk being priced out of cover, climate group warns, Insurance News, 2025
6. When Entire Regions Become Uninsurable, Future Proof, 2024

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World on Brink of 1.5 °C Breach as Global Temperatures Surge Toward Climate Tipping Point - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Key Points

Current warming is already around 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels.[1] The chance of a temporary year above 1.5 °C in the next five years is about 70–80%.[2] The long-term 1.5 °C threshold refers to multi-decadal averages, not just single years.[3] Under current emissions pledges the world is very likely to exceed 1.5 °C in coming decades.[4] Exceeding 1.5 °C elevates risks of extreme weather, sea-level rise and ecosystem collapse.[5] Keeping below the threshold demands rapid deep cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions now.[6]

Global warming is accelerating, with the world likely to breach the 1.5 °C target in the next decade.

The planet has already warmed by approximately 1.0 °C above pre-industrial levels, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment. ^[1]

The threshold of 1.5 °C was adopted under the Paris Agreement to reflect the level beyond which climate impacts become markedly more dangerous. ^[5]

Many scientists now argue that the world is highly likely to exceed this threshold in the next 10 years unless emissions fall sharply. ^[4]

Short-term forecasts show a 70–80% chance of a year exceeding 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels in the coming five years. ^[2]

However, exceeding a single year does not mean the long-term 1.5 °C threshold has been breached. It requires sustained warming over decades. ^[3]

This article examines the evidence on whether the world will cross the 1.5 °C mark in the next decade, the implications of doing so, and the policy actions required to avoid it.

The current state of warming

The most recent IPCC special report assesses that human-induced warming reached roughly 1.0 °C above pre-industrial levels. ^[1]

It also notes that, if warming trends continue at the current rate (about 0.2 °C per decade), global average temperature would reach 1.5 °C between 2030 and 2052. ^[1]

Observational data show that annual temperature anomalies are already touching or exceeding 1.5 °C in single years. ^[2]

Forecasts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggest the five-year mean between 2025–2029 has about a 70% chance of being above 1.5 °C. ^[2]

What the 1.5 °C threshold means

The 1.5 °C target is a global average surface temperature rise measured against pre-industrial levels (typically 1850–1900). ^[1]

Exceeding it does not mean instant catastrophe, but the risks of extreme heat, drought, sea-level rise and ecosystem collapse increase significantly. ^[5]

Importantly, the threshold is about stabilising warming, not just a one-off spike. Temporary overshoots can still be consistent with long-term targets if followed by net-negative emissions. ^[1]

The IPCC specifies that pathways consistent with staying below 1.5 °C require large reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions within this decade. ^[6]

Will the world reach it in the next decade?

Under current global policies and emissions pledges (nationally determined contributions or NDCs) the world is on track to exceed 1.5 °C in coming decades. ^[4]

Statistical analyses using recent monthly temperature data suggest the threshold could be crossed as early as the late 2020s. ^[4]

That said, model projections of long-term warming averages still place the likely date of crossing around the early 2030s under business-as-usual scenarios. ^[1]

Given the emissions trajectory and current commitments, a breach within the next decade is plausible and perhaps increasingly probable. ^[4]

Implications of crossing 1.5 °C

Even if the threshold is passed, the world will still need to pursue emissions reductions because every additional degree adds risk. ^[5]

Risks include more frequent and extreme heatwaves, larger sea-level rise, loss of coral reefs, and greater strain on food and water systems. ^[5]

Exceeding 1.5 °C would not necessarily lock the planet into catastrophic outcomes immediately, but it would reduce the margin for avoiding worse scenarios like 2 °C or more. ^[1]

It would also make adaptation more difficult and expensive, especially for vulnerable countries and ecosystems. ^[5]

What it would take to avoid exceeding it

To keep warming at or below 1.5 °C, global emissions of long-lived greenhouse gases must drop rapidly, reaching net-zero CO₂ emissions mid-century or earlier. ^[6]

According to Climate Analytics, the remaining carbon budget for a 50% chance of staying below 1.5 °C from 2020 was roughly 500 Gt CO₂. ^[3]

Current emissions far exceed the pace needed to remain within the budget, implying that stronger policies, technology deployment, and lifestyle changes are required. ^[4]

If such efforts are delayed or insufficient, the world may still exceed 1.5 °C but could aim for stabilising at a slightly higher level to minimise additional harm. ^[6]

References

1. Summary for Policymakers — Global Warming of 1.5 °C ↩︎ Back
2. Global climate predictions — WMO ↩︎ Back
3. Is the 1.5 °C limit still in reach? — Climate Analytics ↩︎ Back
4. Analysis: Breaching the 1.5 °C limit — CarbonBrief ↩︎ Back
5. 1.5 °C: What it means and why it matters — UN ↩︎ Back
6. Global Warming of 1.5 °C (Chapter 1) — IPCC ↩︎ Back

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Rural Politics versus Climate Reality: Inside the Nationals’ Net Zero Backflip - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Key Points

The National Party has officially withdrawn support for Australia’s 2050 net zero target.[1] The move exposes deep ideological rifts within conservative politics and regional Australia.[2] Critics say it undermines global credibility and economic stability.[3] Supporters argue it protects jobs in farming and mining regions.[4]

The Nationals have reignited Australia’s climate divide by walking away from net zero.

The National Party’s decision to abandon its support for Australia’s 2050 net zero emissions target marks a dramatic rupture in the nation’s climate policy landscape.^[1]

It signals a widening gap between regional and urban Australia, and between the Nationals and their Coalition partners, the Liberal Party.

While the Nationals frame its move as protecting rural livelihoods, the longer term costs to Party credibility and climate stability could be immense.

Origins and background

The Nationals first backed net zero in 2021, following months of negotiation with the Morrison government ahead of the Glasgow COP26 summit.^[2]

That support came with concessions aimed at shielding regional industries from the perceived costs of decarbonisation.

By 2025, however, internal unease had deepened, culminating in the Party’s October declaration that net zero was no longer compatible with rural Australia’s interests.

Leader David Littleproud framed the reversal as “honesty with our people”, arguing that global targets imposed unrealistic burdens on farmers and miners.

Yet the policy shift places the Nationals sharply at odds with the Liberal Party, which maintains formal support for net zero despite its own internal divisions.

Political and ideological divides

The decision underscores a widening ideological gulf within conservative politics.^[3]

Some Nationals, led by former leader Barnaby Joyce, have long portrayed net zero as a city-centric agenda divorced from rural realities.

Others warn the move risks alienating moderate voters and business interests increasingly aligned with renewable energy.

The Nationals’ shift also challenges the Liberal Party’s capacity to present a unified climate policy, particularly ahead of the next federal election.

It creates fresh tensions across the Coalition, with Liberal MPs from metropolitan seats urging a return to pragmatic emissions policy.

Economic implications and regional realities

Central to the Nationals’ argument is the claim that net zero threatens jobs and economic growth in regional Australia.^[4]

But economic modelling from the CSIRO and Treasury suggests the opposite.

Transition industries, particularly renewable energy, critical minerals, and regional hydrogen, could create tens of thousands of jobs across rural areas.

Economist Nicki Hutley describes the Nationals’ position as “economically short-sighted", warning that resisting transition will increase costs for households and industries as global carbon markets tighten.

Australia’s major trading partners, including Japan and South Korea, have already embedded net zero into trade and investment criteria, leaving non-aligned exporters at a disadvantage.

Environmental and scientific perspective

Climate scientists have been quick to condemn the Nationals’ decision, citing worsening extreme weather across Australia.^[5]

The Bureau of Meteorology confirms that 2023–2025 saw record heatwaves, bushfires, and drought conditions in many regions.

CSIRO and IPCC data show that continued reliance on fossil fuels will deepen climate impacts, particularly in agricultural sectors already under stress.

By rejecting net zero, the Nationals risk aligning with global climate sceptics at a moment when climate accountability is central to trade and diplomacy.

The shift has alarmed Pacific neighbours, who view Australia’s reliability as a regional partner through the lens of its emissions policy.

Public and international response

Public reaction has been mixed but largely critical.^[6]

Polling by the Australia Institute found that more than 70 per cent of Australians support a national net zero target, including a majority of rural respondents.

Business leaders, including the National Farmers’ Federation, have called for certainty rather than retreat, arguing that global markets are already moving toward low-carbon production standards.

Internationally, the decision has drawn quiet concern from trading partners and climate allies, particularly the United Kingdom and European Union, who have linked trade access to emissions performance.

Australia’s reputation as a reliable climate actor may suffer renewed damage just as global investment in clean technology accelerates.

Consequences and outlook

The Nationals’ retreat from net zero reflects deep anxieties about change in regional Australia but also exposes a failure of political leadership.^[7]

Rather than shaping the transition, the Party risks leaving its constituents unprepared for it.

Abandoning net zero may deliver short term political comfort, but will likely compound long term economic and environmental harm.

As the climate crisis intensifies, policy vacuums become liabilities, not shields.

Australia’s path forward depends on reconciling rural and urban futures within a shared, science based national strategy.

References

1. ABC News – Nationals dump net zero target
2. The Guardian – Nationals’ split over net zero deepens Coalition divide
3. The Conversation – What the Nationals’ net zero reversal means for Australia
4. CSIRO – Economic opportunities in regional transition
5. Climate Council – Climate impacts of abandoning net zero
6. Sydney Morning Herald – Business and farmers react to Nationals’ shift
7. Australian Treasury – Emissions modelling and economic forecasts

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Rising heat kills one person a minute worldwide, major report reveals - The Guardian

The Guardian - Damian Carrington Environment editor

Biggest analysis of its kind finds millions are dying each year
from combined effects of failure to tackle climate crisis

Firefighters tackle a blaze in Chaves, Portugal, in August. Photograph: Pedro Sarmento Costa/EPA

Rising global heat is now killing one person a minute around the world, a major report on the health impact of the climate crisis has revealed.

It says the world’s addiction to fossil fuels also causes toxic air pollution, wildfires and the spread of diseases such as dengue fever, and millions each year are dying owing to the failure to tackle global heating.

The report, the most comprehensive to date, says the damage to health will get worse with leaders such as Donald Trump ripping up climate policies and oil companies continuing to exploit new reserves.

Governments gave out $2.5bn a day in direct subsidies to fossil fuel users and producers in 2023, the researchers found, while people lost about the same amount because of high temperatures preventing them from working on farms and building sites.

Reduced coal burning has saved about 400 lives a day in the last decade, the report says, and renewable energy production is rising fast. But the experts say a healthy future is impossible if fossil fuels continue to be financed at current rates.

Dr Marina Romanello, of University College London (UCL), who led the analysis, said: “This [report] paints a bleak and undeniable picture of the devastating health harms reaching all corners of the world. The destruction to lives and livelihoods will continue to escalate until we end our fossil fuel addiction.

“We’re seeing millions of deaths occurring needlessly every year because of our delay in mitigating climate change and our delay in adapting to the climate change that cannot be avoided. We’re seeing key leaders, governments and corporations backsliding on climate commitments and putting people increasingly in harm’s way.”

The report says the rate of heat-related deaths has surged by 23% since the 1990s, even after accounting for increases in populations, to an average of 546,000 a year between 2012 and 2021.

“That is approximately one heat-related death every minute throughout the year,” said Prof Ollie Jay, of the University of Sydney, Australia, who was part of the analysis team. “It is a really startling number and the numbers are going up.”

Jay said: “We constantly emphasise to people that heat stress can affect everybody and it can be deadly – I think a lot of people don’t understand that – and that every heat-related death is preventable.”

Laura Clarke, the chief executive of the environmental law firm ClientEarth, said: “We are living through the era of climate consequences. Heatwaves, floods, drought and disease are no longer distant warnings – they’re here now. But as attribution science, climate litigation and grassroots activism grow, accountability for climate impacts is no longer a question of if but when.”

The 2025 edition of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change was led by UCL in collaboration with the World Health Organization and produced by 128 experts from more than 70 academic institutions and UN agencies.

In the past four years, the average person has been exposed to 19 days a year of life-threatening heat and 16 of those days would not have happened without human-caused global heating, the report says. Overall, exposure to high temperatures resulted in a record 639bn hours of lost labour in 2024, which caused losses of 6% of national GDP in the least developed nations.

Heatwave days have become far more common due to the climate crisis

Guardian graphic. Source: The Lancet Countdown 2025.
Note: compares 2020–2024 data to a scenario without human-caused global heating

The continued burning of fossil fuels not only heats the planet but also produces air pollution, causing millions of deaths a year. Wildfires, stoked by increasingly hot and dry conditions, are adding to the deaths caused by smoke, with a record 154,000 deaths recorded in 2024, the report says. Droughts and heatwaves damage crops and livestock and 123 million more people endured food insecurity in 2023, compared with the annual average between 1981 and 2010.

Despite the harm, the world’s governments provided $956bn in direct fossil fuel subsidies in 2023, which was the world’s hottest year on record until it was surpassed by 2024. The researchers said this dwarfed the $300bn a year pledged at the UN climate summit Cop29 in 2024 to support the most climate-vulnerable countries.

The report says the UK provided $28bn in fossil fuel subsidies in 2023 and Australia allocated $11bn. Fifteen countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Venezuela and Algeria spent more on fossil fuel subsidies than on their national health budgets.

The world’s 100 largest fossil fuel companies increased their projected production in the year up to March 2025, which would lead to carbon dioxide emissions three times those compatible with the Paris climate agreement target of limiting heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels, the report says. 

Commercial banks are supporting this expansion, with the top 40 lenders to the fossil fuel sector collectively investing a five-year high of $611bn in 2024. Their green sector lending was lower at $532bn.

Romanello said: “If we keep on financing fossil fuels and enabling this expansion of fossil fuels, we know that a healthy future is not possible.”

She said the solutions to avoid a climate catastrophe and protect lives existed, from clean energy to city adaptation to healthier, climate-friendly diets.

“If there’s any optimism it comes from the action by local communities and authorities, and by the health sector – those that are really in contact with people on the ground,” she said. “They are seeing the impacts with their own eyes and are stepping up because they just become undeniable, but we must keep up the momentum.”

Links

• The 2025 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change
• Climate crisis to blame for dozens of ‘impossible’ heatwaves, studies reveal
  
• Carbon emissions from oil giants directly linked to dozens of deadly heatwaves for first time
  
• Cop29 agrees $1.3tn climate finance deal but campaigners brand it a ‘betrayal’
  
• No major banks have yet committed to stop funding new oil, gas and coal, research finds
  
• Down to Earth: The path to radically lower emissions tucked away inside the devastating IPCC report
• ‘Planetary health diet’ could save 40,000 deaths a day, landmark report finds

Vehicle-to-Grid Technology: How Electric Cars Can Help Fight Climate Change - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Key Points

Vehicle-to-Grid lets parked electric vehicles export electricity to the grid. [1] V2G helps integrate variable renewables and reduce fossil backup generation. [2] V2G supplies services such as peak-shaving and frequency regulation. [3] Barriers include charger standards, market rules and battery life concerns. [4] Australian pilots show practical benefits for households and the grid. [5] Scaled V2G could turn millions of parked EVs into distributed storage. [6]

Electric vehicles are emerging as climate allies, feeding power back into the grid to cut emissions and support renewable energy.

Vehicle-to-grid or V2G is a technical and commercial approach that allows plug-in electric vehicles to supply power back to the electricity network when they are parked and plugged in. ^[1]

Most of the time, an average passenger vehicle is parked, which means its battery capacity is a largely untapped resource for the grid. ^[3]

Bidirectional chargers and supporting communications allow controlled two-way power flow between vehicle and grid in a V2G system. ^[8]

By aggregating many parked EVs, system operators can access distributed storage to smooth demand and absorb variable renewable generation. ^[2]

That smoothing reduces reliance on fossil-fuel peaking plants that otherwise run when renewable supply dips or demand spikes. ^[4]

In practical terms, V2G can provide services such as peak-shaving, valley-filling, emergency support and frequency regulation. ^[3]

Those grid services are the same sorts of value that stand-alone batteries and pumped hydro provide but distributed across many vehicles. ^[3]

When V2G displaces fossil-fuelled generation during high demand, the result is lower system emissions, supporting climate mitigation. ^[4]

V2G is therefore best understood as a tool that links two major decarbonisation pathways: electrifying transport and integrating renewables into electricity systems. ^[2]

How V2G Works

At the technical level, V2G requires a bidirectional inverter that can manage power flow from battery to grid and vice versa. ^[8]

Control software coordinates when vehicles should charge, discharge or remain idle according to market signals and owner preferences. ^[3]

Aggregators can combine many vehicles to offer services at a utility scale that a single vehicle could not provide on its own. ^[3]

Smart scheduling lets vehicles charge when solar generation is high and export during evening peaks, increasing renewable utilisation. ^[5]

Security and communications standards are essential to ensure safe operation and to protect against cyber risks as vehicles participate in markets. ^[11]

Climate Benefits and Emissions Impact

The principal climate benefit of V2G is enabling greater penetration of wind and solar by providing flexible demand and distributed storage. ^[2]

By using existing vehicle batteries, V2G can deliver storage capacity without the immediate need for new large-scale battery farms. ^[3]

That reduces the marginal need for fossil fuel peakers that run at high carbon intensity when renewables cannot meet demand. ^[4]

Empirical and modelling studies indicate V2G participation can lower system emissions when the electricity mix still contains fossil generation. ^[4]

The size of the emissions benefit depends on local generation mix, market design and how V2G charging is scheduled against renewable availability. ^[2]

Economic and Consumer Implications

V2G opens new income streams for EV owners who allow their batteries to be used for grid services during profitable periods. ^[5]

Aggregators and utilities must design remuneration that fairly compensates vehicle owners while keeping services affordable for networks. ^[12]

Households that pair rooftop solar with V2G can store midday solar energy in their car and export it during the evening peak. ^[5]

That combination increases self-consumption of low-carbon electricity and reduces reliance on the grid at expensive times. ^[5]

Technical and Regulatory Barriers

Standards for connectors, communications protocols and safety vary between regions and must be harmonised for scale. ^[4]

Concerns about accelerated battery degradation from additional cycling are common, though recent analyses suggest the effect can be modest under managed regimes. ^[8]

Regulators also need to decide how V2G revenues are treated in markets, and whether distribution networks should be compensated for additional flows. ^[7]

Without clear market rules and consumer protections, uptake will remain limited even where the technology exists. ^[4]

Evidence from Pilots and Early Deployments

Australian trials led by research agencies and utilities have demonstrated home V2G use with rooftop solar and commercial grid services. ^[5]

International projects including commercial fleets in Europe have shown real-world benefits in balancing local networks. ^[6]

These pilots show the technical concept is viable and that early business models can reward participants while aiding the grid. ^[6]

Systemic Risks and Lifecycle Thinking

To be climate-positive, V2G must be assessed across battery manufacture, in-service use and end-of-life recycling. ^[4]

If additional cycling shortens battery life substantially, the embodied emissions per service unit could erode benefits, which is why rigorous lifecycle studies are required. ^[8]

Designing V2G contracts that cap cycling and preserve battery health is one practical way to manage that risk. ^[3]

Policy and Market Pathways

Policymakers can accelerate V2G by clarifying market participation rules, enabling aggregator models and incentivising bidirectional hardware. ^[7]

Standards bodies and industry consortia must work quickly to avoid fragmentation that would slow adoption and increase costs. ^[4]

Networks can pilot targeted V2G programs in constrained areas to test benefits and refine regulatory approaches before wide rollout. ^[5]

Outlook and the Role in Climate Strategy

V2G will not by itself solve climate change, but it can be a material enabler of higher renewable penetration and lower power-sector emissions. ^[2]

As EV adoption rises, the potential aggregate storage represented by parked vehicles becomes large enough to influence system planning and investment decisions. ^[6]

To realise that potential requires coordinated action from vehicle makers, charger suppliers, grid operators, regulators, and consumers. ^[12]

When implemented responsibly, V2G complements other climate measures by making transport electrification an active contributor to a decarbonised power system. ^[2]

Summary

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G): This technology combats climate change and global warming primarily by enabling the widespread integration of renewable energy sources and enhancing grid stability, thereby reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Integration of Renewable Energy: Solar and wind power are intermittent, meaning they only produce energy when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, which creates instability in the energy system. V2G systems turn electric vehicles (EVs) into a vast, decentralised energy storage network ("batteries on wheels") that can store excess renewable energy when production is high and release it back to the grid when generation is low. This allows a higher proportion of clean energy to meet demand.

Grid Stabilisation: V2G-enabled EVs provide essential "ancillary services" to the grid, such as frequency and voltage regulation and provide spinning reserves. This helps balance supply and demand in real-time, reducing the risk of blackouts and the need for expensive, carbon-intensive "peaker" power plants that typically fire up to meet sudden spikes in demand.

Decarbonisation of the Transportation Sector: The technology supports the broader shift to electric mobility, a crucial step in reducing the significant GHG emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles. As the electricity grid itself becomes cleaner due to increased renewable energy, the environmental benefits of EVs (and V2G) grow.

Peak Load Management: EVs can be programmed to charge during off-peak hours (often at night when demand is low and electricity is cheaper) and discharge power during peak demand periods (typically in the morning and evening). This "peak shaving" and "valley filling" smooths out the overall load profile, making the energy system more efficient and reliable.

Reduced Infrastructure Costs: By leveraging the existing battery capacity in parked EVs, V2G can defer or eliminate the need for expensive new grid infrastructure upgrades or large stationary energy storage projects, thereby optimising the use of existing resources.

Emergency Power: V2G-capable vehicles can act as a reliable backup power source during power outages caused by extreme weather or grid failures, improving community resilience to climate change impacts.

In essence, V2G technology transforms EVs from passive energy consumers into active participants in a smart, sustainable energy ecosystem, accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels and directly mitigating global warming.

References

1. Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G): Everything you need to know
2. A comprehensive review of vehicle-to-grid integration in …
3. Electric Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Technologies: Impact on the Power Grid and Battery
4. Additional emissions of vehicle-to-grid technology …
5. New study brings vehicle-to-grid technology a step closer in Australia
6. Dutch car sharing firm adds Renault EVs capable of powering local grid
7. Australia paves way for vehicle-to-grid charging by the end of the year
8. Electric Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Technologies: Impact on the Power Grid and Battery
9. Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G): Everything you need to know
10. Data-Driven Assessment of Vehicle-to-Grid Capabilities in Supporting Grid During Emergencies: Case Study of Travis County, TX
11. Automakers hope for a cut as two-way EV charging becomes real
12. Vehicle-to-Grid Integration: Ensuring Grid Stability, Strengthening Cybersecurity, and Advancing Energy Market Dynamics 

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Earth on Edge: 2025 Critical Climate Trends - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Key Points

2025 is on track to be among the warmest years ever recorded [1] Global climate-related health and mortality impacts are accelerating [2] Investment flows hit record highs yet fossil-fuel financing persists [3] Sea-level rise and extreme events increasingly threaten social, cultural and economic systems [4] Transition risk and governance are emerging as major societal challenges [5] Cultural and political momentum is shifting but still falls short of global targets [6]

Global climate change is accelerating across ecological, social, economic and political realms and it demands immediate, multi-level responses.

The year 2025 is shaping up to be among the warmest on record as the planet crosses key temperature thresholds. ^[1]

Human health outcomes are worsening as climate-driven hazards, exposures, and impacts increase globally. ^[2]

Massive investment in clean energy and climate finance is rising, yet emissions reductions and fossil-fuel support remain inconsistent. ^[3]

Coastal, cultural, and economic systems are facing rising sea levels, extreme weather and compound risks that challenge adaptation. ^[4]

Financial and governance systems are under growing strain from transition risks, stranded assets and regulatory uncertainty. ^[5]

Societal and cultural shifts towards climate action are gaining ground, but still lag the scale required to meet global goals. ^[6]

Across all sectors, the interconnections of ecological, economic, political and cultural change underscore the crisis of climate change. ^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

In Australia and globally, these trends signal that incremental action is no longer sufficient and that transformative responses are now required. ^[4][5][6]

The following article explores five major developments and trends in climate change and global warming as of 2025, covering social, ecological, economic, political and cultural dimensions.

1. Global Temperature Milestones and Ecological Stress

The global average surface temperature in 2025 is projected to rank as the second or third highest on record. ^[1]

According to Carbon Brief analysis, the chance of 2025 exceeding 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels in a single year is less than 10 per cent, but long-term warming continues upward. ^[1]

Meanwhile, in Australia the State of the Climate Report 2024 confirms increased extreme heat events, longer fire seasons, heavier rainfall and sea-level rise. ^[4]

These warming trends are triggering ecological stress such as the ongoing global coral bleaching event that affects the majority of reef systems. ^[6]

The ecological consequences extend beyond immediate systems into cascading effects on biodiversity, livelihoods, and cultural heritage. ^[4]

2. Human Health, Social Justice and Climate Impacts

The Lancet Countdown 2025 Report finds that millions of people die needlessly each year due to fossil-fuel dependence and climate-driven risks. ^[2]

Heat-related deaths have risen by around 23 per cent since the 1990s, reaching an estimated 546,000 annual fatalities globally. ^[2]

The interplay of health, climate and socioeconomic disadvantage is intensifying, with low-income and marginalised communities bearing disproportionate burdens. ^[2]

This social justice dimension means climate adaptation and mitigation must integrate public health, equity and cultural resilience, not just emission reduction. ^[6]

3. Investment, Economy and Transition Finance

Global climate finance flows reached USD $1.9 trillion in 2023, growing around 26 per cent annually between 2021–2023, according to the Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2025. ^[3]

Investment in the energy transition exceeded USD $2 trillion in 2024, with major allocations to renewables, electrified transport and grids. ^[3]

Yet banks and financial institutions simultaneously devoted USD $869 billion to fossil-fuel firms in 2024, a sharp contradiction in the financing landscape. ^[3]

As economies shift away from carbon-intensive systems, transition risk - stranded assets, regulatory changes and market disruption - has become a major economic threat. ^[5]

For Australia, modelling signals that a disorderly transition could reduce living standards and job prospects if action stalls. ^[3]

4. Social, Cultural and Ecological Vulnerabilities

Sea-level rise and extreme events are placing a strong burden on coastal and cultural communities, especially Indigenous and low-income populations. ^[4]

The intersection of ecological change with social and cultural systems means climate impact is not only physical but also relational, threatening heritage, connection to Country and community identity. ^[6]

Australia’s unique ecosystems, including the Torres Strait Islands and Great Barrier Reef, are emphasising vulnerability to warming and sea-level rise. ^[4]

This synergy of climate stressors means adaptation must span infrastructure, social systems and cultural resilience, not just technical fixes. ^[6]

5. Governance, Politics and the Tipping-Point Danger

Governance systems are showing signs of stress as the pace of climate change outstrips policy responses and institutions struggle to keep up. ^[5]

The risk of crossing tipping points in Earth systems is rising, meaning thresholds beyond which change becomes self-amplifying and effectively irreversible. ^[1][4]

The Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5 °C is increasingly under threat given present trajectory and insufficient global commitments. ^[1]

At the same time, cultural and political mobilisation is growing: youth movements, Indigenous stewardship, and grassroots climate justice efforts are gaining voice but must scale faster. ^[6]

Conclusion

The developments above demonstrate that climate change is no longer a single issue but a polycrisis—entwined across ecology, economy, society, culture and politics.

Each of the five arenas described - ecological thresholds, human health, finance and economy, cultural-social vulnerability, governance and tipping points - is interconnected and reinforcing.

For Australia this means building responses that integrate emission reduction, adaptation, equity, finance and cultural resilience.

The window for incremental change is closing; the unaddressed legacy of warming and the inertia in systems mean adaptation and transformative action must proceed now.

From local community planning to national policy and international cooperation, climate action must become systemic, rapid and socially inclusive.

In short, the world must not only reduce greenhouse gases but build resilient and equitable societies that can thrive through change.

References

1. State of the climate: 2025 on track to be second or third warmest year on record (Carbon Brief)
2. The 2025 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: Climate change action offers a lifeline
3. Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2025 (Climate Policy Initiative)
4. State of the Climate 2024 (CSIRO Australia)
5. FSB Roadmap for Addressing Financial Risks from Climate Change 2025 (Financial Stability Board)
6. A path to mobilising $1.3 trillion in climate finance for developing countries (E3G, June 2025)

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‘Hurtling towards climate chaos’: Feedback loops are accelerating global heating - The Age

The Age – Caitlin Fitzsimmons , Nick O'Malley

The Clarence River flood in northern NSW in March 2025. Credit: Louise Kennerley

Planetary heating is accelerating because of dangerous feedback loops which are already contributing to global instability, top climate scientists write in the seventh annual State of the Climate report, while the most effective levers to avert catastrophe include deploying renewable energy, protecting forests and improving farming practices.

“We are hurtling toward climate chaos,” say the opening lines of the paper published in BioScience on Thursday. “The planet’s vital signs are flashing red. The consequences of human-driven alterations of the climate are no longer future threats but are here now.”

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A collaboration by climate scientists from North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia, the paper notes that 2024 set a new average global surface temperature record and was probably the hottest in 125,000 years based on the glacial record.

This was driven by ecological overshoot from human activity, with population, livestock, meat consumption, gross domestic product and fossil fuel energy consumption all at record highs, the paper says, noting an extra 1.3 million humans and 500,000 cattle or other ruminants join the planet every week.

Combined solar and wind consumption also set a record, but was 31 times lower than fossil fuel energy consumption. Coal, oil and gas were all at peak levels last year.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide is at a record level so far this year, probably worsened by a sudden drop in land carbon uptake partly due to intense forest fires including in Canada, Europe, China and the Amazon. Global fire-related tree cover loss reached an all-time high, with fires in tropical primary forest up 370 per cent over 2023, fuelling rising emissions and biodiversity loss.

So far in 2025, Greenland and Antarctic ice mass are at record lows, and the paper notes that Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets may be passing tipping points, potentially committing the planet to metres of sea-level rise.

Contributing author Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a professor of climate science in the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University, said the report added to the “overwhelming evidence that climate change is accelerating” because of the amount of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere as well as new emissions.

The report comes as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has funded climate action through his philanthropic work, wrote a post rejecting a “doomsday view of climate change” and argued for human welfare to be at the centre of climate strategies.

Perkins-Kirkpatrick said communicating climate science was a difficult balance.

“We do have to be careful of not being alarmist. Otherwise, it just immobilises people – they get so scared and so overwhelmed by the whole situation that they’re not going to do anything,” she said.

“We’ve also got to be honest and realistic – we’re not doing enough to reduce our emissions, even in Australia where we’ve got net zero targets by 2050 … let alone in the US, where it’s a dumpster fire.”

The paper identifies which climate solutions would have the greatest impact, based on analysis of global data from US-based non-profit Project Drawdown. Solar energy was at the top, followed by reduced conversion of forests and other ecosystems, wind energy and carbon sequestration in agriculture.

The 43 solutions, which also include a suggestion to encourage plant-based diets, collectively could account for more than half the mitigation needed to limit warming to the Paris Agreement target of no more than 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, rather than the 2.7-degree rise the planet is on track to reach by 2100 under current policies.

The Climate Council warned on Wednesday that any deal between the Albanese government and the Coalition on national environment law reform was risky given that the opposition was debating whether to oppose the net zero target.

“Partnering with a party still struggling with climate denial would be a dangerous bet with Australia’s future,” said Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie in a statement.

Climate Council analysis suggests that abandoning net zero, as advocated by some members of the Coalition, could unleash 6.3 billion tonnes of climate pollution and align with 3 degrees of global heating.

Perkins-Kirkpatrick said global heating was accelerating because of feedback loops – “where an event happens, and then it starts a chain of events that amplifies that first effect”.

“For example, we’re having more carbon [dioxide] in the atmosphere and that’s warming the planet,” she said. “That’s causing the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice to melt, and because it’s exposing darker ocean, this absorbs more heat, amplifying the original warming that happened in the first place.”

The oceanic heat also devastated marine ecosystems that were not equipped to deal with hotter water.

Perkins-Kirkpatrick said the atmospheric temperature was rising as a global average, but it was faster over land than sea and big continental land masses in the northern hemisphere were copping it worst, with deadly heatwaves and forest fires.

“Australia’s average temperature is rising a bit faster than average, but we’re not as bad as southern Europe, which is warming twice as fast as the global average, or some parts in the Arctic that are warming three times faster,” she said.

A separate paper collating research on the health impacts of pollution, disease and heat, published by the medical journal The Lancet on Wednesday, reported that deaths caused by global warming have increased by 23 per cent to 546,000 since 1990.

Australians, on average, endured 8.1 heatwave days in 2024, with 5.4 of these directly attributable to climate change, contributing to deaths, heat stress and lost labour hours.

The annual number of deaths linked to heat in Australia surged by 44 per cent from the 1990–1999 decade to the 2012–2021 decade after adjusting for the increased total deaths from population growth.

Globally, 2.5 million deaths every year are caused by fossil-fuel air pollution, while governments collectively spent US $956 billion (A $1.45 trillion) on fossil-fuel subsidies in 2023.

The COP30 Presidency last week called for countries to “consider adaptation as the next step in human evolution”. 

References

1. World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency 2025 — BioScience
2. Change Course Now: Humanity Has Missed the 1.5°C Target, Says UN Head — The Guardian
3. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report
4. Australia’s Rising Heat Deaths and Health Impacts — Climate Council Report 2025
5. Feedback Loops and the Acceleration of Global Warming — Nature Climate Change
6. The 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change
7. Project Drawdown: The Most Effective Climate Solutions
8. Without Adaptation, Climate Change Becomes a Multiplier of Poverty — COP30 Presidency