Infrastructure

__Impacts__ As will be discussed in the section on "Sea Level Rise", climate change is likely to result in rising sea levels, more intense storms and cyclones, reduced water availability in southern and eastern Australia, and more heat waves.

The likely impacts on human infastructure and settled areas include increased costs of managing water resources, increased energy demand, more damage to infrastructure and housing, increased insurance risk, more food-born diseases, and increased stress on stormwater management systems.

Current urban trends towards living on the coast may be increasing the vulnerability of settled areas to climate change. Rising sea levels could flood the coasts, which is where 80% of Australians live. This would be an absolute disaster.  __Background Information__ By 2050, Australia’s growing coastal towns and cities will face heightened risks from sea-level rise and more frequent severe storms and flooding. Global climate models indicate that mean sea-level rise on the east coast of Australia may be greater than the global mean sea-level rise. In low-lying areas, a mean sea-level increase of 18 to 79 cm or more could lead to coastal inundation tens or even hundreds of metres inland depending on local topography. Risks to major infrastructure are expected to increase, including failure of flood protection, urban drainage and sewerage, increased storm and fire damage, and power failures during heat waves. These i mpacts on settled areas and infrastructure are likely to be widespread. Key sectors likely to be affected include energy and water supply, health infrastructure and services, transport, building, food industry, and tourism. __Solutions__

Once again, the main solution is to find alternative sources of long lasting energy which will meet Australia's demands and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. To encourage this, policy and economic decisions are needed to create incentives for people to reduce their "climate change footprint".