Heat-safe rentals and tougher workplace safety rules for outdoor workers on scorching hot days have been proposed by a state climate policy advisory body.
Identifying extreme heat as an under-recognised and preventable killer, the NSW Net Zero Commission has called for urgent policy action on planning, housing and workplace protections.
“Unlike floods or bushfires, heat leaves very little visible destruction but it is quietly taking lives,” Net Zero Commissioner professor Andy Pitman said.
“Our current responses to heat stress don’t match the scale of the risk.”
In recommendations to the state government, the commission calls for heat-resilient urban planning to ensure new development has enough cooling greenery and thermally comfortable buildings.
It also recognises existing housing stock will accommodate the majority of the population for decades to come, and that rental, social and Aboriginal housing tenants are the most likely to be living in poorly-insulated, badly-maintained homes.
A damning Better Renting study of summer conditions experienced by 50 NSW renters revealed indoor temperatures climbing above 40C and reports of hospitalisations due to prolonged heat exposure.
Landlords presently have no obligation to provide homes that maintain safe indoor temperatures and the commission recommends phasing in mandatory thermal safety rules so that rentals have ceiling insulation and airconditioning, as appropriate.
Landlords should first be made to disclose energy performance ratings at the point of lease.
The commission further calls for tougher SafeWork NSW regulation to protect workers from heat stress, including installing industry-specific thresholds for safe heat working conditions.
Extreme heat is already an underestimated cause of deaths and hospitalisations and human-driven climate change is pushing average global temperatures even higher.
NSW can expect 23 extra days above 35C by 2050 under a high emissions scenario, according to government modelling.
Hot weather seasons are lasting longer, with a University of British Columbia study finding Sydney’s summers have become nearly 50 days longer since 1990.
Cities are also vulnerable to extreme heat due to the urban heat island effect, with Sydney’s Western suburbs experiencing temperatures 10C higher than the coastal suburbs during heat waves.