The Albanese Government is being urged by unions to adopt a new Climate Safety Plan to boost Australia’s resilience to worsening climate change.
The Climate Safety Plan is a broad package of measures spanning housing, health and emergency services and would drive the creation of more than 90,000 new jobs annually over the next decade.
Central to the plan is a new National Emergency Response Brigade to provide surge capacity during natural disasters, workplace safety regulations for extreme heat, and an upgraded National Construction Code so new home builds are safe and suited to the changing climate conditions.
The Plan also includes measures to climate-proof schools and aged care centres, expand home energy upgrades for renters, and strengthen the adaptive capacity of the nation’s health services, local councils, and the farm sector.
The Australian Government’s own National Climate Risk Assessment warns that it is now prudent to plan for a scenario where heat deaths in Sydney will spike 444% and where 1.5 million Australians will be exposed to coastal flooding.
“All Australian workers are affected by climate change, and it’s getting worse. But as a country we face a large gap in investment and policy commitments at the national level needed to keep people safe amid rising temperatures,” said ACTU Assistant Secretary Liam O’Brien.
This week, the ANMF provided a Submission to the Senate Inquiry into the impact of microplastics and other toxics on human health. View the submission here
