Climate Change Case Study
A local government insurance mutual appointed us to conduct risk assessment workshops with 31 of its member councils. The project involved assessing the risks associated with six climate change scenarios: temperature, hot days, wind, fire days, rainfall and sea level. Each council received its own Climate Change Adaptation Plan Report.
The assessment was developed in accordance with the Department of Climate Change (DECC) guidelines and aligned with the Risk Management Standards AS/NZS 4360 and ISO 31000.
Echelon consultants facilitated workshops with councils to help them implement the adopted methodology. These workshops involved:
- Setting the context
- Identifying the climate change scenarios
- Identifying the climate change risk impacts
- Developing overall climate change impact risk ratings
- Developing adaptation plans (for extreme and high risks) including proposed treatment and implementation timeframes
Example: Bathurst Regional Council
Every council is unique, so the reports were precisely calibrated to each council’s requirements. In the case of Bathurst Regional Council – located inland and at an elevation of 668m – the sea level impacts scenario was replaced by an intense rainfall scenario.
Bathurst’s climate change risks were assessed by impacts against infrastructure and property services, recreational facilities, health services, planning and development, natural resource management and water and sewage.
The impacts of the identified risks were also considered in their association with the recommended success criteria:
- Maintain public safety
- Protect and enhance the local economy
- Protect community structures and the lifestyle enjoyed by the community
- Sustain and enhance the physical and natural environment
- Ensure sound public administration and governance
Bathurst Regional Council’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan Report details:
- A robust description of climate change risks
- Adaptation plan options
- Current actions and treatments
- Further adaptation plan treatments required
- Provision to determine respective timeframes for treatments
The project highlighted to Bathurst Regional Council the current climate change exposures and some Adaptation Plan treatment options have already commenced.