Adaptation is an integral component of our approach to addressing climate change, and according to He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission (the Commission), we are not doing it very well. 

Released on 15 August 2024, the Commission’s report, National Adaptation Plan: Assessing progress on the implementation and effectiveness of the Government’s first national adaptation plan, evaluates New Zealand's progress in adapting to climate change, focusing on the implementation and effectiveness of the country's first National Adaptation Plan (NAP), released in 2022.

The NAP considers the impacts of climate change now and into the future, and sets out a six yearly ‘action plan’ as to how New Zealand can adapt to the warming globe. The Commission is charged with reporting on the progress we are making under the NAP every two years, of which this is the first. Adaptation can take many forms. We commented on how our environmental consenting system could support adaptation of our infrastructure in our insight here.

Key findings – we are too slow and not doing enough

The Commission’s key finding is that adaptation is not occurring at the necessary scale or pace to address the significant and increasing climate risks in New Zealand. The current NAP is not driving the necessary actions to make communities safer and better equipped to handle climate change – meaning that adopting a business-as-usual mentality (the status quo) is unsustainable.

The adaptation actions implemented so far have not kept up with the increasing severity and frequency of climate-related events. These efforts have been described as too small and too slow to meet the challenges posed by ongoing climate change and extreme weather events. New Zealand experienced two large climate related events in the space of a month in early 2023, and more floods and drought have occurred since, emphasising the new reality the Commission is considering when reaching its conclusions.

Further, the report finds that critical climate risks are still not sufficiently addressed by the NAP and other central Government action. For example, the risks to coastal communities from rising sea levels and increased flooding are significant, yet the actions taken to mitigate these risks remain inadequate.

The insufficient adaptation efforts are not only a threat to physical infrastructure but also pose significant economic and social risks. For instance, some regions and sectors, like agriculture and tourism, are particularly vulnerable to climate impacts. The lack of effective adaptation strategies could exacerbate these vulnerabilities. Commission Chair Dr Rod Carr noted that in the 2022-2023 financial year there were almost $4 billion in insurance claims due to extreme weather events. The estimated cost of damage to physical assets from the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle will be up to $14.5 billion.

The report stresses the importance of shifting from a reactive approach to a more proactive one. So far, New Zealand has reacted to a number of climate related events, with various reports identifying areas of improvement. However a reactive approach will not be sufficient as the number of events is expected to increase in frequency and intensity. While some actions focus on providing information and raising awareness, there is a need for more concrete measures that anticipate and mitigate risks before they manifest.

There are also significant barriers at the institutional and legislative levels that hinder effective adaptation. The Commission identified 11 significant challenges, including a lack of a coherent legislative framework for adaptation, unclear roles and responsibilities, insufficient funding mechanisms, and a lack of coordination across different levels of government and sectors. A very important discussion, that the New Zealand public has not yet had is how are such efforts to be funded. So far, the funding for reactive responses has been dealt with ad hoc, leaving many of the victims of climate events in limbo for long periods of time. To date, there is no legislative framework or policy in place for broad scale proactive adaptation.

The report concludes that, without a significant increase in the scale and speed of adaptation efforts, New Zealand will not be adequately prepared to face the escalating impacts of climate change.

Other key findings the Commission made include:

1. Urgent Action Required: The report identifies six high-priority areas where urgent action is needed to establish a strong foundation for effective adaptation:
• Clarification of roles, responsibilities, and processes for planning and decision-making at both national and local levels.
• Establishment of a clear national framework for funding and sharing the costs of adaptation.
• Ensuring that iwi/Māori can exercise rangatiratanga (authority) and adapt in ways consistent with their tikanga (customs) and priorities.
• Improvement in the availability and accessibility of high-quality data, information, and decision-support tools.
• Consideration of equity impacts to ensure that climate change and adaptation costs do not unfairly burden specific communities or groups.
• Development of the necessary workforce with the skills and expertise needed for effective adaptation planning and implementation.
2. Barriers to Implementation: Several barriers are hindering the effectiveness of the NAP, including the lack of clear guidelines and frameworks, insufficient funding mechanisms, and inadequate support for local adaptation efforts.
3. Need for Strategic Improvement: The report suggests that NAPs should take a more strategic approach, clearly linking climate risks with long-term adaptation strategies, and include specific, measurable targets and milestones to drive action and allow for effective monitoring and adjustment.

The Commission’s recommendations

The report also sets out nine recommendations for the Government: seven focused on helping New Zealand shift from the current reactive approach to a more proactive one, and two on improving national adaptation planning and monitoring. 

The recommendations include:

1. Local Adaptation Planning: The Government should establish a clear legislative mandate for local adaptation planning and action, defining roles and responsibilities across all levels of government and sectors.
2. Funding Clarity: There should be clear guidelines on how the costs of adaptation and climate-related losses will be shared, including the development of new funding and financing instruments.
3. Support for Iwi/Māori: The adaptation framework should ensure that iwi/Māori can fully participate in and lead adaptation efforts in line with their tikanga and priorities.
4. Research and Data: The Government should develop a strategy to improve the science and research system, ensuring the availability of high-quality data and information to support adaptation efforts.
5. Equity Consideration: All adaptation measures should address the distributional impacts to ensure that no community or group is disproportionately affected.
6. Workforce Development: A strategy should be prepared to develop the workforce required for effective adaptation, including education and training across relevant sectors.
7. Information sharing: The Government should investigate options to pool and coordinate information and resources to facilitate access, availability, and sharing of expertise and information to support local adaptation planning and action.
8. Clear direction: Direction, scale and pace of change required needs to be clear in future NAPs. The Government should identify measurable targets and how actions will address identified risks, and how those actions align with adaption principles. 
9. Dynamic environment: The Government should:

• update the table of actions from the NAP every two years, recognising that climate impacts, and New Zealand’s adaptation response, need to be dynamic;
• establish a transparent process for updating the table of actions; and 
• make national adaptation plan goals and objectives specific, measurable, timebound and outcomes-focused so they can be effectively monitored against.

Overall, the Commission’s report underscores the urgency of taking proactive and strategic action to enhance New Zealand’s resilience to climate change, emphasising that delays will lead to higher costs and fewer options in the future.

This article was written with the assistance of Hermione Kemp, a Solicitor in the Wellington Environment and Planning team.