A NSW Government website

Department of Primary Industries

Climate Vulnerability Assessment

Improving the understanding of climate change vulnerabilities and opportunities to NSW primary industries.


Climate change is altering the growing conditions for many commodities and biosecurity threats across NSW. Primary producers and the industry groups that support them need evidence-based information about the changing climate and the risks and opportunities it may bring.

Through the Climate Vulnerability Assessment, the department is enhancing the resilience of our primary industries by providing information to help them better plan for, and respond to, climate change. A range of commodities have been assessed for climate change impacts including the following sectors horticulture and viticulture, broadacre cropping, forestry, extensive livestock, and marine fisheries.

Importantly biosecurity risks associated with these industries have also been assessed to help inform sound planning, risk management, and adaptation decisions.





The rationale for the Climate Vulnerability Assessment was the need to provide comprehensive, qualitative, and quantitative information and insights into the impacts of future climate change on economically significant commodities and biosecurity risks. This enables the identification of those industries most at risk and in need of adaptation strategies and those where climate change might bring new opportunities. Please see the links below for the Summary Report which outlines the results of the assessment and the Methodology Report which provides the detail of how we completed these assessments.


Summary Report

(PDF, 41425.92 KB)

Methodology Report

(PDF, 19425.09 KB)


The Climate Vulnerability Assessment provides insights into 28 commodities and 14 biosecurity risks. These commodities and biosecurity risks were selected primarily based on their value or importance to NSW. Consideration was given to including some emerging commodities and biosecurity risks that are expected to become more prominent, as well as to ensuring a geographical spread of assessed industries across the state. To explore the detail of the Climate Vulnerability Assessments please use the links below.

Explore Sector Results


Horticulture & Viticulture

Broadacre Cropping

Forestry

Extensive Livestock

Marine Fisheries

Biosecurity Risks


Funding Acknowledgement

The Climate Vulnerability Assessment was completed as part of the Primary Industries Climate Change Research Strategy and was funded by the NSW Government’s Climate Change Fund.

Contact us

For more information, please get in touch with vulnerability.assessment@dpi.nsw.gov.au