Hills residents need to vote for a candidate who can champion strong emissions reductions
You can bet your home on it!
Many Hills homeowners may soon be unable to get house insurance at any cost, and in a few short years many more will not be able to afford to get enough insurance. Each homeowner in the Hills is effectively betting their house on who they vote for in the Federal election because the risks from climate change (such as bushfires) may soon be too great for insurance companies to cover some houses. This is the news from a close look at Hills data in the Climate Council’s latest Climate Risk Map of Australia. The interactive map allows users to enter their suburb to personalise the data.
There are three scenarios in the risk maps: a path to a global temperature rise of 1.7 degrees (low risk), 2.7 degrees (medium risk), or 3-4 degrees (high risk).
In the best case or low risk scenario there will still be around 190 Hills homes that will be unable to get insurance by 2030 (in just 8 years!) and 4,000 that will not be able to get enough insurance. If we proceed at a medium risk level then in 8 years’ time there will be 5,000 homes in the Perth Hills that will be unable to get enough insurance and by 2050 around 8,000 Hills homes will be affected. But if we continue on a high risk pathway then in 8 years’ time 5,600 homes in the Perth Hills will not be able to get enough insurance and by 2050 this will increase to around 10,000 Hills homes. The numbers are even higher if we look at 2100.
We live in a bush-fire prone area and that is reflected in the insurance we pay. However, if we choose a low emissions strategy we will have far fewer high-risk homes that are uninsurable and far fewer medium risk homes where people cannot afford adequate insurance.
An analysis just released by international not-for-profit group Climate Analytics indicates what will happen by the year 2100 if the commitments of the Liberal/National Party, Labor Party, the Greens and ‘teal independents’ are taken up.
Climate Analytics says the Greens’ commitments will put us on a path to below 1.5 degrees increase, Labor’s commitments are likely to result in a 2 degrees increase, while the Liberal National Party will have us heading for 3-4 degrees.