Geoscape Australia and Climate Risk Management

Geoscape climate risk management solutions enable a wide range of stakeholders improve their sustainability.

For homeowners, this means enhancing the sustainability of their homes. For organisations, Geoscape solutions provide essential data to support broader sustainability initiatives, such as achieving net-zero emissions and enhancing climate risk reporting.

Geoscape Australia makes innovative, high quality and nationally consistent data available for effective climate mitigation strategies. Covering every building, land parcel, and address across Australia, Geoscape data supports the nation’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions.

Carbon Emissions

Buildings account for nearly 20% of Australia’s total energy use and direct carbon emissions¹. Therefore, improving building efficiency plays a crucial role in delivering a Net Zero Australia. Geoscape Australia can calculate estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the building level on a national scale through building analytics and land use information. Similarly and by utilising data points relating to land use, vegetation and soil, estimated GHG (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent) measurement can be produced at a parcel level.

Net Zero Banking Alliance

Australian financial organisations are leading the change towards sustainability by joining the Global Net-Zero Banking Alliance, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050. This growing global trend sets an example for other national regulators. Geoscape’s climate risk data solution supports banks in their emissions reporting for their commercial and residential property portfolios, enabling them to meet their commitments to the Net Zero Banking Alliance.

Managing Climate Risks and Mandatory Reporting

Climate risk management aims to minimise exposure to climate-related risks by managing climate-related hazards, reducing community and landscape vulnerability, and increasing resilience.

For example, climate-related changes in weather impacts the insurance and banking sectors, leading to higher premiums, tighter lending practices, and emission reduction targets.

Geoscape has developed a climate risk property intelligence solution that enables climate risk ready analytics and insights. This solution meets the growing need for reliable location data to deliver effective  climate risk management and monitoring.

It also helps in understanding scope 3 emissions and will support layering on future climate projections, climate risk ratings, weather and climate data, detailed land use and productivity data for more targeted action. These insights are crucial for organisations striving to meet mandatory reporting requirements and enhance their overall sustainability efforts.

Natural Hazards and Home Vulnerability

Knowing your home’s vulnerability to climate-related hazards is essential, as these hazards are becoming more frequent and intense. For example, homes with elevated first floors are more resilient to flood events, those with hip roofs instead of gable roofs are more resilient to storm damage, and buildings with shorter straight-line distances to bushfire-prone vegetation are less resilient to bushfire damage. Identifying these characteristics and risks allows for the recognition of preventative measures to lower the risk.

Geoscape’s Impact on Home Resilience

Geoscape location intelligence has significantly enhanced the Resilient Building Council’s Bushfire Resilience Home Self-assessment app, adopted by over 22,000 homes to assess and improve bushfire resilience. Geoscape Australia provides precise geolocation data and detailed data on building characteristics, such as building area and roof size, helping homeowners take action to make their homes more resilient and sustainable.

Geoscape climate risk management data solutions not only help improve home energy efficiency and reduce emissions but also contribute to a positive domino effect of reduced climate change impact and increased home resilience.

By leveraging Geoscape insights, individuals, companies, and banks can work together towards a sustainable future.

References

1: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/energy-efficiency/buildings