Climate change threatens economies, security: report

A CSIRO report has warned climate change will threaten the region's economy and security unless governments and aid agencies start preparing for its impacts.

The two-part CSIRO report was commissioned by a new coalition of aid, church and development groups.

It warns that a two degrees Celsius increase in temperature by 2030 will have a devastating impact in northern Pakistan, India and western China.

It says millions of lives will be at risk from dengue fever, malaria and increased flooding and tropical cyclones.

It also says local and regional economies will be affected with chronic food and water shortages.

The GDP of countries like Sri Lanka could drop by 2.5 per cent with an increase in warming of only two degrees Celsius.

Aid groups including Oxfam and World Vision say it is a wake-up call to Australia.

They want the Federal Government to help the region prepare for its adverse effects.

Tim Costello from World Vision says Australia must be prepared to help.

"The onus is really on developed countries like Australia to have better targeted aid so that it's invested in renewable energy in these poor countries, to give them an alternative source, to give them the resilience to cope with what will be devastating already to fragile economies," he said.

The Environment Minister, Senator Ian Campbell, says large nations like Australia have a substantial role to play in helping smaller countries adapt to the effects of climate change.

"I don't think there's any doubt that the impacts of global warming will have major impacts right around the the world," he said.

"I think the crux of the report which says these are very small economies, many of them lying low in the sea, will be impacted possibly ahead of any larger countries."