The New Zealand government’s climate change minister, James Shaw, has asked the Parliament’s Environment Committee to conduct an inquiry into a community-led retreat and adaptation funding for the benefit of high-risk property owners.
Shaw said that the recent severe weather events brought about immense damage, and climate change is likely to add to these troubles in the form of more severe events in the future.
“Decisions we take now, about how to prepare and adapt, will have a lasting legacy,” Shaw said in a news release. “Community-led retreat is a carefully planned process that can mean anything from relocating homes, to cultural sites, to playgrounds, out of harm’s way, before a severe event, like a flood, happens. I have asked the Environment Committee to hold an inquiry so we can hear a broad range of views on how to develop an enduring system.”
The inquiry would explore how community-led retreat could be part of the country’s adaptation system, Shaw said, as well as how the costs associated could be met. It is worth noting that the government has recently reached an agreement on cost-sharing for high-risk property buyouts in Hawke’s Bay, another part of its efforts to improve resilience across New Zealand.
“I am proposing a Special Committee be formed in the next term of Parliament, made up of members from all political parties, to give the issue the attention it deserves, and to build cross-party consensus. That could include members of the Māori Affairs Committee, to build on their inquiry into Māori climate adaptation,” Shaw said.
The inquiry’s findings would form part of the development of a proposed Climate Change Adaptation Bill in 2024.
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