Communities must be central to climate adaptation strategies – 10 insights to guide national policy |
Discussions about how New Zealand should adapt to a changing climate have been going on for more than two decades.
While both major political parties agree on the need for a nationally coherent adaptation plan, there is an impasse between the previous Labour government’s Treaty-based, equity-centred approach and the current National-led coalition’s fiscal discipline and burden-shifting logic.
The recently released National Adaptation Framework aimed to close this gap, but the four-page document merely touches on foundational issues such as the sharing of risk information and costs.
Most troubling is the government’s signal it intends to withdraw Crown support for post-disaster bailouts and managed retreat in about two decades.
Serious interventions such as seawalls and planned relocation are unaffordable for virtually all at-risk local communities, tangata whenua and their governing authorities. We argue that Crown cost-sharing is essential.
The profound multi-generational implications of escalating climate risk require robust, informed debate to make sure new adaptation legislation establishes an enduring, equitable framework for generations to come.
But despite the policy gap at government level, local adaptation action is underway. And we are learning valuable lessons from these efforts.
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