Australia?s Indigenous housing won?t cope with climate change, research finds - The Guardian Australia

Regional and remote Aboriginal housing is not able to withstand climate change and will be unsuitable for future living, forcing people to consider migrating away from their traditional lands if nothing is done, research says.

Even the best-kept housing will not be enough to protect people from the worst impacts of climate change, according to the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).

But the researchers also warned that even if existing housing is improved to deal with the heat, widespread over-crowding in Aboriginal communities would cancel out the benefits.

“Our message in a nutshell is: addressing climate change in Indigenous housing and health policy is imperative,” Prof Tess Lea from the University of Sydney said. “More housing is needed, and new design approaches are urgently required.”

Researchers ran 366 simulations of Indigenous housing models in three different climate zones. They found that in terms of thermal performance, none are fit for purpose under current conditions “let alone under the most optimistic of climate change scenarios, which is a 1.5 degree [rise in temperature],” Lea said.

“People will find different ways to survive the heat but it will be quite difficult in the long term, if you’ve still got the same level of chronic disease in regional Australia as there is now.

“People with diabetes don’t do well in high heat, even now.