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How councils and authorities can adapt

How councils and authorities can adapt

Key points

  • Local councils and authorities are being affected by climate change in different ways. These impacts are based on their climate and geography, as well as their community, environment and industry vulnerabilities, and available resources.
  • Effective climate change adaptation planning follows a four-step process: assess climate change risks, identify options and plan, fund and implement actions, and monitor and review.
  • The NSW Government offers a range of resources, tools and information to help councils and authorities prepare climate change adaptation plans.
  • Through integrating climate change adaptation into local council and authority operations now, costly damages to property, infrastructure, farmland, livelihoods, and our health and wellbeing can be minimised into the future.

Why councils and authorities need to adapt

Climate change is having different effects across NSW, so every local council and authority needs to have an individual plan.

The NSW Government, local councils and authorities are working together to plan for the impacts of climate change. The NSW Government’s Net Zero Plan Stage 1: 2020–2030 is the foundation for NSW’s action on climate change and its goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The NSW Climate Change Policy Framework outlines the long-term objectives to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and to make NSW more resilient to a changing climate.

The adaptation planning process

To adapt to the impacts of climate change, local councils and authorities can follow this four-step process:

Step 1 - Assess the risks of climate change in your region. This involves assessing exposure and vulnerability.

Step 2 - Identify options and plan to manage or reduce the impacts of climate change on local people, environments, economy, assets, services and operations

Step 3 - Fund and implement plans in consultation with local communities and stakeholders

Step 4 - Monitor and review plans and results regularly for ongoing updates and improvements.

group of people assessing bushfire risk with the use of an electronic table

Step 1 - Assess the risks of climate change in your region

To plan effectively for climate change - local exposure, vulnerability and risks need to be understood.

bushfire

Step 2 - Identify options and plan to manage or reduce the impacts of climate change

To manage current and future climate impacts, the NSW Government, councils and authorities may need to adapt their assets, services and operations. The outcomes of the assessment stage will inform the development of adaptation plans. Adaptation plans assess, select and prioritise the measures to be taken.

For local councils, adaptation planning on climate change can help to:

  • address the vulnerabilities identified in their climate change risk assessments, embed adaptation measures into their Integrated Planning and Reporting framework, and existing operations and processes
  • address climate risks while reducing the cost and extent of future impacts and damages
  • integrate climate change risk into councils’ corporate risk registers and long term financial management
  • build internal partnerships for adaptation responses across the different functional areas of councils
  • identify community expectations about council services.

fire

Step 3 - Fund and implement plans in consultation with local communities and stakeholders

To help councils implement adaptation plans, the NSW Government has partnered with Local Government NSW to provide grants programs. For example the following programs have helped councils address the climate change vulnerabilities and risks they have identified:

Local Government NSW has developed a range of climate change case studies to help councils and authorities share best practice and learn from each other. This will help drive ongoing improvements across NSW. 

pool

Step 4 - Monitor and review plans and results regularly for ongoing updates and improvements

Councils should review their adaptation plans regularly to assess their effectiveness, and ensure they are up to date with the latest climate impacts and projections for their region.

The NSW Government reviews adaptation planning across NSW through the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Survey. The survey findings help understand and monitor local government responses to climate change.