One of Australia’s peak professional bodies, Engineers Australia, has issued a stern pre-Budget warning that a monster bill for damage caused by climate change and extreme weather will wash-up on the doorstep of government and industry unless immediate future proofing measures are started immediately.

The group has warned that the release of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change fifth Assessment Report represents a strong signal of the growing need to put in place reformed design standards and risk management strategies that take the changing environment into account.

“This latest IPCC report on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability is a wake-up call to all Australians. The risks we face as a nation can no longer be ignored,” said Engineers Australia National President, Professor Alex Baitch.

“In the face of such overwhelming evidence we need to ensure that clear actions are taken to ensure our communities are prepared and safeguarded against the effects of climate change.”

The thrust of the call from Engineers Australia is that key assets should now be built to withstand the extra demands that the effects climate change will place on the man-made physical environments.

“Australia has over $200 billion of assets in the coastal zone that support the lifestyle and livelihood of 85 percent of our community. We should be designing those assets to withstand the climate of the future not the climate of the past,” Professor Baitch said.

“Australia’s climate is measurably changing, with increasing atmospheric temperature, changes to rainfall patterns, rising sea level and increased extreme weather.  The IPCC has found that it is highly likely that those trends will continue, with major risks of flooding and damage to our coastal infrastructure and settlements.”

Engineers Australia wants a “sensible risk management strategy” that will develop a consistent national approach to adaptation that includes “biophysical monitoring of climate variables” and identified thresholds at which “adaptation response is required.”

To back that, the group has also called for “appropriate design standards that incorporate the climate likely to occur over the life of an asset.”