A newly-published survey found that Victorians are anxious about climate change, but also motivated to work on preparing for climate change impacts.
The survey, performed by Environment Victoria, received 541 responses from people across Victoria and was included as part of a submission to the Inquiry into Climate Resilience
The respondents’ age skewed older, with 60 per cent over 65, and 29 per cent between 45 and 64.
59 per cent of respondents reported that they or their communities have taken action to be more resilient to natural disasters.
This includes taking action to make their home and surrounding natural areas more able to recover from disasters, and reducing their own contributions to climate change.
38 per cent of respondents said they felt they were particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with respondents providing several varying reasons.
For some respondents, it was their location close to bushfire or flood zones which made them vulnerable to impacts from these events.
Other reasons included a threat to livelihood due to drought-related impacts, and concerns around the unreliability of phone and internet services in their area.
Almost half of the respondents had directly experienced disasters.
Many respondents said they had needed to evacuate from bushfires, often multiple times.
Others mentioned extreme storms in metropolitan Melbourne and regional areas such as Mirboo South, which caused tree damage, road blockages and long-lasting power outages.
According to an Environment Victoria media release, video responses to their survey described direct experiences of bushfire, extreme heat and storms as well as high levels of anxiety about current levels of community preparedness.
Details: environmentvictoria.org.au/2024/07/29/submission-to-the-victorian-inquiry-into-climate-resilience/
