Savage Summer: Coal and gas giants must pay Australia’s $1.6 billion+ disaster bill
Climate groups call for a Climate Pollution Levy on major coal and gas polluters to fund disaster recovery & adaptation.
Australians are living through a Savage Summer of fires, floods, cyclones and killer heatwaves that has destroyed more than 400 homes, and already triggered more than $1.6 billion in insurance claims. While families, small businesses and local councils shoulder the burden of rebuilding, a handful of major coal and gas corporations continue to post multi‑billion‑dollar profits in Australia from the pollution driving these extreme events.
New analysis from the Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) and Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action brings together early data from this summer’s disasters, from November 2025 to January 2026, including more than 100 major fires, multiple severe storm systems, seven cyclones, major flooding across several states, a devastating algal bloom along the South Australian coast, and a 25% spike in heat‑related hospitalisations during rolling heatwaves.
Climate experts say the Savage Summer is not a freak season but a preview of Australia’s future without stronger action to cut climate pollution – and they are calling for a new Climate Pollution Levy so the biggest polluters pay their fair share for the damage now being caused.
“Communities are paying for this Savage Summer with their homes, livelihoods and, in too many cases, their lives – while coal and gas giants walk away with record profits,” said Dr Barry Traill from CANA. “It’s time our Parliament made those profiting from climate pollution help pay for the clean‑up and the protections we need.”
Co-Chair of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Jan Harris, lost her family home to a bushfire in 2018. Her comments highlight the vast costs survivors experience: “When we talk of loss it’s the dollar figure that is often discussed but we are different people now, sleepless nights, anxiety, PTSD. All through this we have worked, paid taxes and tried to minimise our footprint on the planet while coal and gas companies post record profits pay minimal tax and increase the risk of us losing our rebuilt home. It is families just like mine who are shouldering the burden of climate change and we are close to breaking.”
The report highlights:
Four deaths have already been recorded in active climate disasters this summer, with heatwaves expected to be declared the cause of hundreds of early deaths given they are Australia’s deadliest natural hazard.
Hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged in bushfires across multiple states, with thousands more outbuildings lost and well over 100,000 head of livestock killed.
Seven cyclones, repeated monsoon deluges and major storms causing widespread property, infrastructure and power network damage.
A prolonged algal bloom along the South Australian coastline, leading to catastrophic losses of fish and other marine life, with severe impacts on fisheries, tourism and coastal communities.
More than $1.6 billion in insurance claims have already been lodged, with local councils facing significant unfunded recovery and adaption costs.
At the same time, Australia’s biggest coal and gas corporations are each responsible for millions of tonnes of climate pollution and are reporting enormous profits.
“These are not acts of God; they are acts of policy,” said Dr Traill. “Successive governments have approved and subsidised coal and gas projects that pour fuel on the fire, while leaving ordinary Australians to pick up the tab.”
The Climate Pollution Levy could apply to the largest coal and gas polluting exporters, with revenue dedicated to:
Disaster recovery and rebuilding in hard‑hit communities.
Adaptation measures such as stronger infrastructure, emergency services and heat‑health programs.
Accelerating the clean‑energy transition, particularly in regional communities currently reliant on coal and gas industries.
“Members of Parliament have a choice,” Dr Traill said. “They can keep asking families in firegrounds, floodplains and coastal towns to pay for a crisis they did not cause – or they can back a fair levy on the corporations profiting from the damage while their polluting products are phased out.”
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For more information or to arrange an interview please call Elly Baxter on 0407 163 921 or email elly@cana.net.au
Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) is the national network of over 170 community, environment and civil society organisations working together to deliver fair and effective solutions to the climate crisis.
Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action (BSCA) is a non-partisan, community organisation made up of bushfire survivors, firefighters and their families working together to call on our leaders to take action on climate change. BSCA formed in 2018, and its founding members were all impacted by bushfires, including Tathra 2018, the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20, Blue Mountains in 2013, Black Saturday in 2009 and Canberra in 2003.
