We're often told that climate change is too expensive to address, but now we're paying the price of inaction.
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The Climate Council's new report Hitting Home shows that climate-fuelled disasters landed a $35 billion hit to the economy over the last decade. But that's nothing compared to what's ahead.
By 2038, climate change will come with a national price-tag of $100 billion a year.
That's before a baby born today reaches their 18th birthday.
The planet has only warmed, on average, 1.1 degrees so far, yet we're witnessing unprecedented extremes.
We may well have reached some ecological tipping points, with the Black Summer bushfires burning 10 times the forest as previous seasons.
These fires killed 33 people, plus at least another 400 who breathed the deadly smoke.
Hazardous air hovered for weeks, effectively making a third of the country's population - including babies - pack-a-day smokers.
The long-term health impacts? Unknown.
Australia is on the frontline of climate change, now 1.44 degrees hotter than when records began.
Our oceans too are threatened. Marine heatwaves caused three mass bleachings of the Great Barrier Reef since 2016, destroying half its coral.
It won't stop there; if we reach 2 degrees, reefs worldwide will be gone.
Current emissions commitments have us on track to exceed 2 degrees, causing 100 million deaths annually by 2100.
The Black Summer bushfires will pale in comparison to future climate change catastrophes.
We've wasted decades, and now have to cut emissions urgently and deeply.
For a chance at keeping warming below 2 degrees, we must halve emissions this decade, and reach net zero by around 2040.
Decisions made in the next few months are critical to our climate in 2040 and beyond.
Now is our last chance of keeping below that 2 degree threshold.
Fortunately, Australia is uniquely placed to lead in clean energy, creating about 76,000 jobs bringing an economic boon to our regional communities.
The Morrison government's proposed "gas-led recovery" is incompatible with survival of the Great Barrier Reef and will cost lives.
We know there is no safe level of climate change, just like there is no safe level of smoking.
This report makes clear what decades of dithering by successive governments has already cost us, and what the future losses to our environment, health and economy will be.
The financial cost of inaction will be massive. The ecological and human costs, immeasurable.
Hilary Bambrick is the Head of School, Faculty of Health at Queensland University of Technology.
