Homeowners kept in dark about climate change risk to houses, says report

(The Guardian, 29 May 2016) Climate Institute says risk data held by regulators, state and local governments, insurers and banks, but homebuyers and developers do not have access to it.

The risk that houses in some areas of Australia are likely to become uninsurable, dilapidated and uninhabitable due to climate change is kept hidden from those building and buying property along Australia’s coasts and in bushfire zones, a Climate Institute report says.

The report says there is untapped and unshared data held by regulators, state and local governments, insurers and banks on the level of risk, but that most homebuyers and developers are not told about the data and do not have access to it.

“Even when public authorities, financial institutions and other stakeholders possess information about current and future risk levels, they are sometimes unwilling, and sometimes unable, to share it with all affected parties,” the report released on Monday says.

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The Guardian, 29 May 2016: Homeowners kept in dark about climate change risk to houses, says report