Alternatively, a proactive response could see insurance acting as an incentive for adaptation by penalising high risks but offering rewards for low risks. Currently climate change impacts research is being carried out both for bushfire and flood impacts in Australia. This project is drawing on this research as input for study of possible scenarios of the impact of insurance decisions on adaptation to climate change. Specifically the research emphasises the importance of assessing climate impacts on health for those most vulnerable in a population as well as targeting inequity in Australia's health system. Australian Aboriginal communities already suffer significant disadvantages in comparison to non-Aboriginal people and climate change may impose further adverse social and environmental conditions.
Health is critical to quality of life and social justice for Aboriginal people.
In Australia, the average life expectancy of Aboriginal people is 20 years less than for non-Aboriginal people. The issue of housing has been identified as a major factor in the health equation for Aboriginal people. Similarly, population growth will be an important factor in the next few decades as Aboriginal populations are expected to rise dramatically in some areas. Ms. Braaf is investigating risks imposed by climate change on the Aboriginal community in Darwin and surrounding regions in relation to health, housing and population growth. Adaptive strategies for possible climate change will be investigated.