Regional sector 4: Industry

Climate effectsClimate risks – IndustryAn increase in mean and extreme temperaturesAn

Climate effects Climate risks – Industry
An increase in mean and extreme temperatures An increase in the number of extreme heat days could lead to:
  • Loss of productivity from agricultural activities, leading to:
    • Higher product prices, resulting in impacts on community and industry viability
    • A change in the nature of agricultural uses (i.e. a shift from grazing to cropping)
    • Impacts on the local economy
    • Displacement of local businesses and potential loss of employment
    • Decreased yields – crops, animals and forestry activities
  • Crop damage
  • Degradation and damage to ecotourism facilities (natural asset, accommodation) and to the impacts on the local economy
  • Increase in the intensity and severity of bushfires and grass fires, which negatively impacts on forestry
Rising sea level Rising sea levels and coastal inundation could lead to:
  • Effects on roads, affecting access and egress issues and disruption of businesses (especially with those associated with the utilisation of the Great Ocean Road)
  • Increased impacts on fish stocks and fishing activity (i.e. size of crayfish catches) and could lead to an increase and dominance of warm water fish/aquatic species
Increase severity of precipitation events An increase in severity of precipitation events and increased run-off which could lead to:
  • Localised flooding, resulting in problems in trying to adequately educate and inform the transit and tourist population in emergency situations
Decrease in mean precipitation A decrease in mean precipitation could lead to:
  • Reduction in water availability and increased prices, leading to a loss of economic productivity from existing agricultural and forestry activity.
  • Reduction in water availability and could lead to decreases in dairy activities in the south as feed yields from the north decreases
  • Reduction and changes in agricultural productivity, leading to farm closures and the migration of people from farms to towns and eventual population decline
  • Reduction and change in agricultural productivity, leading to the liquidation of assets for short-term profit
Other climate effects (Combined)
  • An increase in the number of extreme heat days could lead to an increase in bushfire risk, leading to fire impacts on property, infrastructure, business/ agriculture/forestry and natural assets.
  • Rising sea levels, sea temperature and storminess has the potential to lead to impacts on whale and other important migratory species (tuna) and their activities (timing, numbers and routes), impacting also on the tourism industry

Table 21: Climate risk statements - industry

Regional sector 3: Community wellbeing

Regional sector 5: Council assets and services

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