Chief Executive of the Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) Paul Evans says there is a real appetite for central government to play a much stronger role in enabling local responses to climate change.

This follows the release of results from IAG New Zealand’s second annual survey on how New Zealanders view climate change. The poll found that 79 per cent of Kiwis feel the issue of cli-mate change is important to them personally, up from 72 per cent last year.

When asked about the potential effects of climate change, the survey showed:
• 86 per cent of respondents expected more frequent and extreme storms
• 85 per cent of respondents expect the inundation of coastal locations due to sea-level rise
• 84 per cent of respondents expected more frequent and extreme floods

“It’s evident there’s a huge disconnect between what the public expects and what is currently being delivered to address the potential effects of climate change. Both in Aotearoa and around the globe, we see a strong desire for locally-driven action, and Council’s must be at the forefront of this drive. However, they’re currently grappling with how to do this in a meaningful way,” Paul Evans says.

“Local Government needs help adapting, and it’s fair to say that they are currently frustrated with the lack of leadership.

“Things like extreme weather events and sea-level rise will have a very real impact on communi-ties and the infrastructure they use daily. We need to be thinking about how we plan for the ef-fects of climate change, how we make infrastructure more resilient, and importantly, how we fund all of these requirements.”

The IAG New Zealand survey also showed that:
• 79 per cent of respondents want the Government to provide guidelines to councils on what they should do to reduce and avoid the impacts of climate change
• 71 per cent thought the Government should amend laws to empower councils to take ac-tion

“Local Government is in a very challenging position at the moment. They are making decisions which will have massive implications for the future, but they don’t have the support they need,” Paul Evans says.

“A good example is around land use. If the Council’s allow development in an area prone to sea-level rise, they could face significant liabilities in the future. However, if they don’t allow devel-opment, then the developer is likely to challenge them in court. They’re really in a no-win situa-tion.

“Central government needs to prioritise the development of advice, guidance and legal frame-works to support Councils decisions around land use.

“If we are going to achieve our aspirations around climate change, then we need local govern-ment right across Aotearoa to make it a priority in its decision-making. This isn’t just about the way we are behaving right now. It’s about the type of long-term system we are designing and what our communities will look like in the future. This includes the types of homes we build, where we live, where we work, the transport we use, and more," Paul Evans says.

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