China took an estimated $47 billion hit from floods in 1998. Storms are the most financially costly disasters, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Monsoon-prone India and the Philippines follow with 333 and 290, respectively. This article originally appeared in the Canberra Times.China has borne the most floods, storms, landslides and droughts, with nearly 500 disasters since 2000. Written Dr Bjorn Sturmberg, Research Lead, Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at the Research School of Electrical, Energy and Materials Engineering, ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science. We must act as if what we do now makes a difference, because it does. Our plans and actions may not be perfect вЂ“ they never are for wicked problems вЂ“ but as in times of war, this is no excuse to defer. Not only have they been proven to be effective, but they will create new, largely rural, jobs and stimulate economic growth that is fit for purpose in a world economy committed to net zero emissions by 2050. These targeted actions must be complemented by an economy-wide price on carbon, which is the internationally agreed strategy that will unite Australia with our allies.ДЄll of these tools are affordable, scalable, and available immediately. Industry and governments must work together to create a road map for electrifying freight that provides futures for workers whose jobs will be automated. Governments also need to remove perverse financial incentives while ensuring sustainable funding for road maintenance. The decarbonisation of transport can be accelerated by rolling out a great national network of rapid electric vehicle charging stations along highways and in towns. Closer to home, the distribution system could be strengthened with microgrid technologies that are able to keep local energy networks powered when theyвЂ™re cut off from the national system, such as during natural disasters. We also need to complement these with energy storage systems like batteries and pumped hydro. In the energy sector, the objectives must be to build more solar and wind farms, and new transmission lines for them to connect to. This can be integrated into drought-recovery packages. Governments should support farmers to capture this opportunity by providing financing for the infrastructure and learning-curve costs involved in shifting their management practices. Australian farms alone have the potential to sequester tens of gigatonnes of carbon dioxide, which they can be paid for through Australian and international carbon markets, where prices are on the rise. This will not only reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but will increase the landвЂ™s water-holding capacity, productivity, and drought resilience. One of our secret weapons is the ability of farmers to sequester carbon into their soils.

The good news is that we are well-armed to take up the fight.

The international immensity of the challenge may seem beyond our grasp, but we should draw courage from AustraliaвЂ™s proud record of contributing to global challenges: lest we forget the sacrifices of two world wars. The proposed warlike commitment to driving carbon emissions to net zero is demanded by the scale and existential threat of global warming.ДЄs in war, it is mission-critical for politicians to put aside their squabbles to unite to align the powers of all citizens and sectors to work towards a clear collective goal: in this case, keeping the world inhabitable. The long-term health effects on millions of Australians are confronting.Д«ut rather than despair, Australia should follow a bipartisan group of American leaders and declare the start of World War Zero. The tragic loss of dozens of lives is deeply saddening. The experiences of this summer вЂ“ which is far from over вЂ“ are scary. The nightmarish future we were long warned about has arrived and is staring us in the face along firefronts thousands of kilometres long and 70 metres high. No longer are the consequences of our actions far away in time or space.

World war zero