The Australian Climate Accountability Project had today released a new information resource for community-based and climate groups, illustrating the dangers of climate-driven harms to Australians posed by our huge fossil fuel exports.
The fictionalised case studies of ‘Lisa’ and her family in Logan, Queensland explore how our worsening climate can raise weather-driven risks for ordinary people in eastern Australia, making life more uncertain, more stressful and more costly.
Lisa’s story, with its striking visuals by illustrator Cecilia Humphrey, draws upon the scientific data on escalating risks from climate change in Australia, especially from heat, to the lives of ordinary families and communities.
“Information about climate dangers is often presented in dense scientific language or as technical warnings which are unlikely to be absorbed by those under threat,” said Australian Climate Accountability Project lead and Gillian Moon.
“In preparing Lisa’s Story, we worked closely with climate scientists, public health experts and social demographers, always making sure Lisa’s story stood on solid facts and scientific projections, but that it was also presented in plain, non-technical language that would be meaningful to the general public.”
Lisa’s family are like many in eastern Australia, where more than 80% of the country’s population lives – families living with financial and other challenges that mean climate change is more likely to hit them hard.
“These families often rent, have fixed budgets, and have family members with common medical conditions, like asthma or diabetes, or who work in outdoor or heat-exposed jobs,” said Ms Moon.
"Public transport in suburbs is often below standard, and houses — especially rental properties — are often poorly insulated and close together, meaning they stay hot long into the night.”
The accompanying Q&A to Lisa’s story examines how extreme weather events like Tropical Cyclone Alfred are made more intense and damaging by climate change, and can strike in areas further south than Australia’s east coast communities and emergency services are used to. Opportunities for further reading and information on how to start discussions about climate change within local communities is also provided within the resource.
The Australian Climate Accountability Project is part of the Australian Human Rights Institute at UNSW Sydney. This is the project’s second major release following 2024’s Escalation report, which revealed Australia is the second-largest climate polluter when calculated by total carbon emissions from its massive fossil fuel exports.
This project was supported by funding from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation through the Eldon & Anne Foote Trust.