Climate change and mental health: risks, impacts and priority actions

This article provides an overview of the current and projected climate change risks and impacts to mental health and provides recommendations for priority actions to address the mental health consequences of climate change.

One of the report authors,
Grant Blaski.

Discussion and conclusion

The authors argue the following three points: firstly, while attribution of mental health outcomes to specific climate change risks remains challenging, there are a number of opportunities available to advance the field of mental health and climate change with more empirical research in this domain; secondly, the risks and impacts of climate change on mental health are already rapidly accelerating, resulting in a number of direct, indirect, and overarching effects that disproportionally affect those who are most marginalized; and, thirdly, interventions to address climate change and mental health need to be coordinated and rooted in active hope in order to tackle the problem in a holistic manner. This discussion paper concludes with recommendations for priority actions to address the mental health consequences of climate change.

Read the paper published by the International Journal of Mental Health Systems - “Climate change and mental health: risks, impacts and priority actions.”

Banks slash coal loans by 50 per cent as investor pressure mounts

Australia's big banks slashed loans to fossil fuel companies by almost a fifth in 2017, including a 50 per cent drop in their coal mining exposure, new analysis shows, as investors and regulators ramp up pressure over climate change risks.

Banks are cutting their exposure to fossil fuels, especially coal. 

ANZ Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank's combined loans to coal miners slumped by about $1.5 billion, or more than 50 per cent per cent, according to analysis of bank disclosures from environmental finance group Market Forces.

Read the story by Clancy Yeates from today’s Melbourne Age - “Banks slash coal loans by 50 per cent as investor pressure mounts.”

Banks urged to consider climate risks when making mortgage lending decisions

Weather events, such as the 2011 floods in
Brisbane, pictured, have not had a large
 impact on bank losses. But a new report
argues these risks will increase over time

Banks are being urged to consider climate change risks in their mortgage lending decisions and investigate whether they may be holding loans against billions of dollars worth of properties under threat from changes such as rising sea levels.

A new report from the Climate Institute says banks' mortgage portfolios – which make up nearly two-thirds of the big four's total loans – may be exposed to risks, because of hazards made worse by climate change, such as flood, rising sea levels, storm surge and coastal erosion.

It was estimated in 2009 that $74 billion worth of Australian houses may be at risk from natural hazards, but the report says the current figure is "almost certainly" greater than this.

As the risk of damaging weather events grows due to climate change, the report says banks should take action to integrate climate risk into their mortgage lending processes.

Read Clancy Yeates’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Banks told to look at climate risks in mortgages”.