Australia's national science agency has called for leadership on climate change, amid concerns the public -and the public service - do not fully understand the risks it posed.

In a technical report about the 2019-20 bushfires commissioned by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the CSIRO warned climate and disaster risks were growing across Australia.

The report, tendered to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements on Monday, described many of the risks as systemic which required "coordinated, system-wide responses beyond emergency and disaster management to address".

"There is growing demand - from society and the financial services and disaster management sectors in particular - for coordinated action across all economic sectors, government portfolios and levels of decision making to mitigate climate and disaster risks, build resilience and adapt to change," CSIRO said.

Read the full article on The Canberra Times website, featuring commentary by Prof Mark Howden