Transport and energy feature in first climate adaptation plan

New Zealand’s first climate adaptation plan lays the foundations for resilience and suggests action to address risks including protecting lives, livelihoods, homes, businesses and infrastructure.

Transport (road, rail, ports, airports) and energy (Transpower’s electricity network, the NZ Big Battery Project, Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme – the latter two for managing dry year risks associated with hydro dams, and development of a National Energy Strategy by the end of 2024 to address challenges facing the energy sector and to signal pathways away from fossil fuels) are included mainly in the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) under Chapter 8, Infrastructure.

A new online data portal will provide Kiwis with information about local climate risks, as the NAP aims to ensure communities have the information and support they need to prepare for climate change impacts.

“Taking action to prepare for these impacts will make our communities safer, protect our environment, and ensure our towns and cities can continue to support people’s jobs and livelihoods,” says climate change minister James Shaw.

“New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to put into law the globally agreed target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The Emissions Reduction Plan we published in May – and backed with record investment of $2.9 billion – will make sure we are playing our part to achieve this goal.

“However, even with 1.5 degrees of warming, we are going see the impacts of climate change on our communities and the way we live our lives. It is absolutely crucial, therefore, that we do everything we can to adapt to these changes.

“We have already seen what can unfold. Severe weather events that had previously seemed unthinkable, even only a few years ago, are now happening at a pace and intensity we have never experienced before. And when they happen, everything from the roads we rely on, to our drains and water supplies, to getting the kids’ to school can be severely disrupted.”

Shaw says the Government has taken steps to support those communities affected, with the NAP aimed at providing people with the tools to prepare for when climate events occur.

“The National Adaptation Plan brings together more than 120 actions that together provide a blueprint for more resilient communities, where everything from our homes to the way we grow our food is protected from the worst effects of climate change.

“In 2020, the Government published New Zealand’s first national climate change risk assessment to help identify where action needed to be taken,” Shaw explains.

“The National Adaptation Plan will outline the steps the Government will take over the next six years to respond to these risks,” says Shaw adding that the recently announced Emissions Reduction Plan will also help.

“We mustn’t lose sight of the urgent need to lower our emissions,” says Shaw in the 194-page NAP.

The NAP aims to collect data and start developing longer term programmes during its first three years, followed by a mid-term programme (2025-2028) and long-term programme from 2028.

Click here for more information on the NAP.