Australia's Country Towns 2050: What will a climate adapted pattern of settlement look like?

This report is the first output from this project and presents the findings from the initial stages of the investigation. Later reports will present a fuller picture as the outputs of additional stages of analysis are presented.

There is a growing consensus in the community around the certainty of human-induced climate change and its potential to significantly affect our economy, society and culture. The scientific and research community had achieved such consensus many years earlier and it has taken some time to move beyond the construction of a scientific evidence base to support the case for climate change and to move to understand its impacts.

In this context, initiatives such as the extensive program of research funded by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) are critical for preparing Australia for the challenges of the next decades and beyond.