Climate scientists warn global heating means Australia facing more catastrophic storms and floods

Catastrophic flooding on the scale of the disaster hitting Queensland and New South Wales is becoming more likely as the planet heats due to greenhouse gas emissions, climate scientists have warned.

The latest major assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found global warming caused by humans was causing dangerous and widespread disruption, with many effects expected to be more severe than predicted.

Mackey said the report identified nine major climate risks facing Oceania:

It found there were options to limit the impacts if there was proper planning, but progress on adaptation was uneven due to problems including a lack of consistent policy direction, fear of litigation and concern about upfront costs.