Bombshell takeaways from Aussie report spelling future climate doom

Regional supply chains will be smashed, cost of living expenses will soar, local economies will be “disrupted” and precious Australian ecosystems will be lost as the country stares down the barrel of an intense, unpredictable climate future. Australia’s National Climate Risk Assessment has exposed the country’s complete unpreparedness to handle worsening climate disasters and the havoc they are predicted to wreak on the economy, agriculture and infrastructure, with the ramifications already starting to bite heading into peak cyclone season. Tech giant Amazon has unveiled its own response to the challenges of a worsening climate, with the company outlining its vision for disaster relief efforts at the Delivering the Future 2025 held in Milpitas, California in October. While the event is primarily US-focused, it offers an insight into the company’s global operations and when new technologies or systems could be rolled out across the world, including Down Under. A major issue involves how such technologies will respond to freak changes in extreme weather events, with the Climate Risk Assessment report stating changes in the “timing, duration, intensity and spatial patterns” of extreme weather events are likely. The latest climate science indicates many events are likely to occur more frequently, in combination or affecting new locations. “The change in distribution, timing and severity of extreme weather events means that historical observations on their own are not likely to be a good indicator of future risk,” the report states. In assessing specific risks, the report states northern areas of Australia – in particular Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia – are likely to experience more challenges due to its proneness to hazards like cyclones and flooding. It forecasts increased pressure on “health, critical infrastructure, natural species, ecosystems and primary industries”. Remote Australian communities also face particular vulnerability, as “critical infrastructure and supply chains face increased disruptions”. “Regional communities are highly vulnerable to climate change due to their reliance on climate-sensitive industries, such as agriculture and tourism,” the report continues. “Limited employment diversity and economic dependence on natural resources heighten the potential for disruption and reduce resilience. “Agricultural businesses will experience cost pressure from disrupted supply chains, rainfall uncertainty, water irrigation issues and biosecurity management pressures. “Critical infrastructure, particularly water, transport, and energy systems, is often sparse and lacks redundancy, resulting in slower recovery and greater vulnerability to repeated climate shocks.” Tech giant’s plan to transform disaster recovery Amazon has already unveiled the future of its disaster relief responses, including how on-the-spot technology kits and advanced drone hardware can help ailing communities in the wake of events like fires, floods and cyclones. These technology kits – which are yet to be flagged for rollout in Australia – are designed to keep vital services like shelters and food banks running through events like hurricanes, wildfires or floods. Each kit is modular and contains stand-alone components that can either work on their own or be connected with others. A single component can provide power through solar panels and batteries to evacuees’ phones, or keep fridges and lifesaving medical devices running. Another component offers networking and connectivity options, including satellite links and internet connections that can restore communications for local fire departments or the National Guard. A third component includes sensors that allow first responders to map and analyse their surroundings – speeding up search and rescue efforts or supply deliveries. Amazon has already deployed the technology in recent disaster events, such as during the July floods in Central Texas and the Los Angeles wildfires. Jeffrey Schweitzer, who leads Amazon’s global disaster response operations, explained internet connectivity was commonly the most urgent need of survivors after immediate safety concerns were eased. “The faster people can talk to each other and share information, the quicker we can reduce the chaos and help communities recover,” he said. Mr Schweitzer cut his teeth with the disaster response to Hurricane Katrina, serving as the interoperability architect for the then chief information officer at the Pentagon. In learning about the disaster response to Hurricane Helene in 2024, Mr Schweitzer said the use of drones via the “on-up, down-off” rule allowed them to streamline recovery efforts in the wake of the devastation. Part of this involved using drones with an experimental AI algorithm that allowed responders to narrow the scope of what they were looking for, such as people, animals and vehicles. Mr Schweitzer explained drone footage was able to streamline rescue efforts, with the technology so accurate it was able to pick up the face of a garden gnome in the mud. “It’s purely in its infancy in this capacity, but imagine in the future if you’re thinking about the totality of Queensland in a back-to-back disaster where you have a wildfire first and then suddenly an unexpected tropical storm,” he said. “How do I make sense of where do people have needs the most? “It translates into this notion of not just having 15 regional hubs that are warehouses packed full of relief supplies but smaller, forward-deployed pods that have technology kits, that are simple, that are easy to use.” While the company had not yet worked on the specific technical aspects of their disaster response in Australia, it reiterated that Amazon was exploring options on the ground with their frontline partners. “We have our relief hubs in Australia right now,” Mr Schweitzer said. “I’ve had the opportunity to visit Australia. I definitely appreciate the partnership we share among each other, especially in wildfire response. “We are looking at modelling a wildfire-specific relief hub there as well as what we’ve done here domestically.” Mr Schweitzer explained one of these opened in San Bernardino, California, where just two months later the entire stock was depleted for the Los Angeles wildfires. “We also learned what worked, what didn’t and how should we customise it to make it even better,” he continued. “And so we’ve applied that to our relief hub in Mexico, another one that’s coming in another country, and in what we’re looking at in contemplation for Australia. “And I think a lot of that is going to come from the feedback that we get locally. It’s just going to take time of us working together to figure that out.” Addressing issues of supply chain shortages in Australia due to disasters, Mr Schweitzer said the work was incumbent on “multiple stakeholders” on the ground. He drew a comparison to mobilising Amazon Prime Air for relief efforts in Alaska and the reliance on the National Guard to help move supplies into cut-off communities. • NewsWire’s accommodation and travel in San Francisco for Delivering the Future 2025 were provided by Amazon.