Featured report

  • The Critical Decade 2013

    The Critical Decade 2013

    Two years ago the Climate Commission warned that 2011-2020 is the ‘Critical Decade’ for tackling climate change. In particular, this is the Critical Decade for turning around rising emissions of greenhouse gases and putting us on the pathway to stabilising the climate system. One quarter of the way through the Critical Decade, many consequences of [...]


Major reports

  • The Critical Decade: Global Action Building on Climate Change

    The Critical Decade: Global Action Building on Climate Change

    The Critical Decade: Global Action Building on Climate Change presents an overview of progress in international action on climate change since August 2012, with a particular focus on China and the US. The report also considers progress in Australia, as it is one of the 20 countries contributing most of the world’s emissions. more…

  • The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather

    The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather

    When extreme weather events occur the Climate Commission is consistently asked questions about the link to climate change. This report unpacks our current knowledge about different types of extreme weather events: extreme temperatures, rainfall, drought, bushfires, storm surges, cyclones and storms.

    more…

  • The Critical Decade: Generating a renewable Australia

    The Critical Decade: Generating a renewable Australia

    Energy is fundamental to the way we live, our economy, and our future. For many years, we have used cheap and abundant fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas to produce most of our energy. more…

  • The Critical Decade: International Action on Climate Change

    The Critical Decade: International Action on Climate Change

    This is the Climate Commission’s third major report and follows a series of reports on the science and impacts of climate change and the opportunities in Australia associated with taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. more…

  • The Critical Decade: Climate change and health

    The Critical Decade: Climate change and health

    The Climate Commission has released its second major report, The Critical Decade: Climate change and health. The report is a comprehensive and up to date synthesis of the expected impacts of climate change on the health of Australians. more…

  • The Critical Decade: Climate science, risks and responses

    The Critical Decade: Climate science, risks and responses

    Over many decades thousands of scientists have painted an unambiguous picture: the global climate is changing and humanity is almost surely the primary cause. more…


Regional reports


Short reports

  • The Angry Summer

    The Angry Summer

    The Climate Commission has received questions from the community and the media seeking to understand the influence of climate change on the recent extreme summer weather. more…

  • The Earth continues to warm

    The Earth continues to warm

    The Climate Commission has today released a briefing paper that corrects the confusion and confirms that the Earth continues to warm at an alarming rate.

    more…

  • Climate Commission: The Year in Review 2012

    Climate Commission: The Year in Review 2012

    The Climate Commission was established in 2011 to provide Australians with an independent and reliable source of information about climate change.

    more…

  • Off the Charts: Extreme Australian summer heat

    Off the Charts: Extreme Australian summer heat

    Australia is a land of extremes. As global temperature rises, very hot days are becoming more frequent and heatwaves are becoming more prolonged across many parts of Australia. more…

  • Was Hurricane Sandy influenced by climate change?

    Was Hurricane Sandy influenced by climate change?

    Hurricane Sandy has been causing devastation across the eastern United States in recent days with flooding and widespread power blackouts. The massive size of the storm has prompted many in the public and the media to ask the Climate Commission about the influence of climate change on Hurricane Sandy. more…

  • Loss of sea ice indicates global risks from climate change

    Loss of sea ice indicates global risks from climate change

    Strong warming in the northern high latitudes is causing Arctic sea ice to rapidly melt. It’s one of several changes in the Arctic region, including increased melting of the Greenland ice sheet and permafrost in northern Russia and Alaska, which pose serious risks for the world as a whole.

  • The science behind southeast Australia’s cool, wet summer

    The science behind southeast Australia’s cool, wet summer

    Most parts of Australia have experienced exceptionally heavy rains over the past two years, filling many dams around the country and breaking the drought of 1997–2009. There has been much confusion in the media about what this means for climate change. This report seeks to set the record straight. more…

  • The Climate Commissioners: Professor Will Steffen, Roger Beale, Professor Lesley Hughes, Professor Tim Flannery, Dr Susannah Elliot and Gerry Hueston

    Climate Commission: A year in review

    The Climate Commission was established in 2011 to provide Australians with an independent and reliable source of information about climate change. more…

  • Carbon pricing – a brief overview

    Carbon pricing – a brief overview

    There is no doubt that the climate is changing and that failing to take sufficient action today entails huge potential risks to our society, economy and way of life. Most Australians, most businesses and both sides of politics agree that we need to reduce pollution and address climate change responsibly. more…


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Did you know?

Globally the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred in the last 15 years

Video

Critical Decade 2013 - Climate Commission Media Briefing, Sydney, 17 June 2013