Climate change impacts all of us, but in different ways.
We want to know how you or your community are being affected.
By sharing your story, you’ll help us collate stories and identify common themes, powerful examples and local evidence to show our elected decision-makers the real cost climate change is having on communities across Australia – and why big polluters should pay for the damage they cause.
Plus, these local and personal stories can help bring communities together – local businesses, community groups and everyday people – to call on the Coal, Oil and Gas giants who caused this mess to clean it up!
What impacts are we talking about? Do I have a story?
Everyone has a story when it comes to climate change. Some impacts are obvious and devastating: bushfires, floods and extreme weather destroy homes, livelihoods and even take lives. Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense, while droughts mean less water for farmers, rural communities and the environment.
But climate change also shows up in everyday life. Maybe hotter days are changing when you can exercise or play sport, or affecting a local place or activity you love. For example, a 2026 study on the impacts of climate change on sport in NSW found that over 75% of local government areas were affected by flooding, fires or extreme heat. One participant reported that poor lighting at local grounds meant cricket teams couldn’t play during the cooler evening hours, even as temperatures rise.
Climate change is also adding to cost-of-living pressures. For many Australians, keeping cool through increasingly hot summers is becoming unaffordable, while insurance costs are rising in climate-affected areas. And in 2026, Australia’s peak body for local councils called on major polluters to pay for the impacts of climate change, rather than forcing councils to keep raising rates or cutting local services to cover rising costs.
Whether it’s the cost of keeping cool, changes to the things we love, or the devastation of extreme weather, these stories point to the same injustice: communities shouldn’t be left paying the price while big polluters profit.
