Planning for a different kind of sea change: lessons from Australia for sea level rise and coastal flooding

Abstract

Climate change increases hazards for coastal cities where a large proportion of the world's population lives. Adaptation to its impacts ought to be a key focus for planning and policymaking in highly vulnerable countries like Australia. This responsibility, however, has been largely left to local councils with mixed results. This leaves substantial parts of the population at risk where adaptation plans are lacking. Even worse, since the impacts of climate change do not respect jurisdictional boundaries, there is a spill-over risk where good adaptation planning by one council may be undermined by the lack of action in an adjacent council. These risks can be reduced if state and federal governments provide more consistent support and guidance. This paper takes an integrated approach in comparing the relevant legislation, policies, plans, and strategies related to coastal management across the national and state/territory jurisdictions in Australia. The findings indicate that there are major differences, with some states (South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and Queensland) having more detailed policies and plans for addressing sea level rise and coastal flooding. The findings have implications beyond Australia, particularly for those countries with more devolved or federal systems of government, and provide key lessons for adaptation to climate change. Key policy insights. In the absence of national guidance and leadership, climate adaptation responses will remain uneven across jurisdictions placing more of the population at risk and undermining what adaptation plans there are.. National, state, and territory policies or plans are more effective if they are consistent over time, but they are undermined by reversals when governments change between political parties that have widely varying views on climate change.. Effective long-term adaptation policymaking and planning therefore require a bipartisan commitment and consistent political will across the major political parties to prioritize the problem and commit significant public resources to a response.

Climate change acknowledgment to promote sustainable development: A critical discourse analysis of local action plans in coastal Florida

“…As the baseline, most coastal towns are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with varying levels of flooding and infrastructure damage expected from both sea level rise and intense storm events. Personal experience of extreme weather events has been linked to changes in climate perceptions (Akerlof et al, 2013; Allan et al, 2020; Dedekorkut‐Howes et al, 2021; Shao & Goidel, 2016). Demski et al (2017) found that “direct flooding experience can give rise to behavioral intentions beyond individual sustainability actions, including support for mitigation policies, and personal climate adaptation in matters unrelated to the direct experience (p. 149).” Akerlof et al (2013) argued that after controlling for factors such as socioeconomic status and political affiliation, perceived experience of climate change events heightens people's perception of overall risk.…”

“…Environmental champions, sometimes called environmental leaders, play a significant role in triggering change in response to sustainability challenges, with approaches ranging from political action to grassroots movement building to pressure governments (Cordiner et al, 2018; Lindsay et al, 2019; Mould et al, 2020; Taylor et al, 2012). Personal experience of climate risk, such as flooding, heat waves, and extreme weather events, has also been linked directly to heightened acceptance of climate change and advocacy for sustainable action (Allan et al, 2020; Dedekorkut‐Howes et al, 2021; Demski et al, 2017; Konisky et al, 2016). While these factors contribute to local sustainability progress, normative motivations of the “right thing to do” are conspicuously absent from the mix, and co‐benefits prevail as the primary foundation for planning (Krause, 2013; Salon et al, 2014).…”

Development in a state of climate change: an Australian case study of government response

“…While it is recognised that governments are responsible for ensuring “that major new policies, projects, and technologies contribute to sustainable development” (Bruntland Report, 1987, p. 323), how this is achieved across Australia, or even within one State, has not been undertaken uniformly. Each Australian State and Territory has its own planning laws and policies, which then can be implemented differently at the local government authority (“LGA”) level (Dedekorkut-Howes et al , 2021). This can lead to differences as to what may be built and how, the processes to be followed and the time those processes take.…”

“…In turn, what may be constructed can then affect what is insured, what can be insured and the cost of that insurance (Cradduck and Teale, 2014). Managing for climate change risks often is not performed as proactively as it could be (Dedekorkut-Howes et al , 2021) as coastal land in particular remains under threat from such risks (Warren-Myers and Hurlimann, 2021; Xie et al , 2019; Goodell, 2017). Arguably, therefore, continuing to enable development in at-risk areas raises liability issues for government.…”

Evaluation of Eco-Environmental Quality and Analysis on Spatio-Temporal Variation in Jinan, China

“…With the rapid progress of global urbanization, the ecological environment problem is one of the most important global problems that human beings are facing at present. Sea level size [1,2], decreasing of forest resources [3], flood disaster [4], vegetation degradation [5,6], urban heat island effect [7,8], soil pollution [9,10], disaster risk [11,12] and other ecological environment problems seriously threaten the survival and development of human beings. Therefore, dynamic and continuous monitoring of the temporal and spatial changes of ecological environment quality has gradually become the focus of academic circles and relevant government departments, which does vitally help to the healthy and sustainable development of urban construction.…”