Governments need to take urgent action on climate change to avoid the catastrophic effects of “uninsurable risk”, former Australian of the Year Tim Flannery told an industry audience last week.

Speaking at ICA’s Sydney conference on Thursday, he said a broader effort is required to mitigate carbon emissions.

He says human activity has drastically altered the earth’s climate, and governments must now adopt treaties and protocols to “create a more sustainable world”.

“An uninsurable risk destroys the value of our money,” Professor Flannery said. “Money is a promise and valued only in a state of social health. Climate change is a major threat to that. We have underestimated the amount of pollution necessary to flip the earth into a new state.”

He says risings rainfall levels and ocean temperatures are examples of “small scale change”.