The Commission has a role evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of the National Adaptation Plan, and we will be providing our first adaptation monitoring report to the Minister of Climate Change on 2 August 2024. [...] The lack of a clear and coherent national framework for adaptation planning and implementation has significant and wide-ranging flow-on effects. [...] To enable effective local adaptation planning and action, the Commission’s preliminary assessment is that the adaptation framework should set out: a) a clear legislative mandate for adaptation planning and action at the local level. [...] This includes guidance on how to account for local values and risk thresholds to inform adaptation planning, and clarity around the respective roles and responsibilities of regional councils, territorial authorities, private property owners and iwi/Māori in local community adaptation planning processes and implementation. [...] To provide clarity on how adaptation costs will be shared and met, the Commission’s preliminary assessment is that the adaptation framework should clearly set out: a) how the costs of local adaptation planning and implementation will be shared.
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Table of Contents
- Proactive action is needed to make our communities safer and better places to live and work as the climate changes. 1
- Preliminary finding Clarifying roles responsibilities and processes for planning and decision-making will help Aotearoa New Zealand appropriately respond to adaptation challenges and opportunities. 2
- The recent announcement of the cross-party inquiry to develop a national adaptation framework is an encouraging development. 2
- Existing legislative planning and decision-making frameworks are not well-suited to planning for and dealing with changing and uncertain risks from climate change 2
- The lack of a clear and coherent national framework for adaptation planning and implementation has significant and wide-ranging flow-on effects. 2
- The lack of a coherent framework or arrangements has also played out in some specific areas including different infrastructure sectors services sectors and the Māori economy. Some examples include 2
- Rangatiratanga 2
- Ensuring the emergency management system is fit-for-purpose is critical with Aotearoa New Zealand facing more frequent and extreme weather events as the climate changes 2
- To enable effective local adaptation planning and action the Commissions preliminary assessment is that the adaptation framework should set out 3
- Each of these elements should be set out for the following specific processes and areas 3
- There is currently no national funding framework for climate adaptation and no clarity around how adaptation costs will be met. 3
- For adaptation to be effective there needs to be more focus on funding prevention and risk avoidance. 4
- Decisions about dealing with private property losses are often made in a reactive way following extreme events. 4
- Adaptation is currently being delayed because it is not clear how it will be paid for 4
- Progress in developing a national funding framework for adaptation has been slow but recent developments are encouraging 4
- New instruments for investing public funds and leveraging private investment in adaptation are needed. 4
- To provide clarity on how adaptation costs will be shared and met the Commissions preliminary assessment is that the adaptation framework should clearly set out 4
- To meet future adaptation costs the adaptation framework should also set out 5
- Chief Executive of He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission 5