Climate Exchange

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New Zealand’s climate change

and urban impacts toolbox

Andrew Tait, Principal Climate Scientist,

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand

ew Zealand needs communities that are resilient to

climate change and the hazards that come with it. The

Impacts of Climate Change on Urban Infrastructure and

the Built Environment Toolbox

is designed to help city, district,

regional and central government identify opportunities and

reduce the impacts of climate change.

Around 75 per cent of the NZ$1.5 billion insurance payout for

damages from natural hazards in New Zealand over the last 40 years

(prior to the recent Canterbury earthquakes) was for weather related

hazards.

These hazards are expected to increase in future because of

climate change, perhaps greatly so if international efforts to reduce

greenhouse gases are not significant.

Urban environments are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather

and flooding events (including coastal storm surge), and are also

where the majority of New Zealanders live for all or most of their

lives.

Urban environments contribute significantly to economic activ-

ity and the country’s gross domestic and gross national product, and

rban

ssues

Flooding of the Buller River on 25 July 2012

Image: West Coast Regional Council

contain most of the country’s educational, cultural and

health facilities, both in number and significance. Urban

environments also contain the majority of the country’s

public and community investment, and much of its

private investment.

The

Impacts of Climate Change on Urban Infrastructure

and the Built Environment Toolbox

is designed to provide

guidance and decision tools that can be used by urban

council staff and policy makers to reduce the potential

harm caused by projected climate changes. The toolbox

will help city, district, regional and central govern-

ment identify opportunities and reduce the impacts of

climate change. It follows a science-based risk assess-

ment process

and demonstrates methods of identifying

adaptation options and evaluating their benefits. The

tools build on and frequently reference existing climate

change guidance material, available from New Zealand’s

Ministry for the Environment.