Adapting MDB management to climate risks is an escalating challenge, with the projected decline in runoff being potentially greater than the water recovered for the environment . While the Basin Plan includes mechanisms for climate risk management , it does not require altering pre-existing rules that distribute the impacts of anticipated reductions in water resources between users . The intense drought conditions in 2017-2019 , the South Australian Royal Commission investigation into the MDB reforms  and major fish kills in the lower Darling River in the summer of 2018/2019  have increased concerns about the Basin Plan's climate adaptation deficit . Consequently, the MDB Authority  is undertaking an assessment of climate change risks and developing adaptation mechanisms  that can feed into the revisions to the Basin Plan scheduled for 2026. The MDB reforms to date illustrate the difficulties in integrating climate change science and projections into management . Anticipatory and participatory governance and adaptive management approaches supported by structural and institutional reforms would support the effectiveness of the reforms .
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report