IPWEA NZ and Tonkin + Taylor hosted a webinar on climate change and resilience in asset management in August 2020. Industry experts from the government sector, climate specialists, and infrastructure asset management discussed the impacts of climate change in New Zealand and the need for councils to include climate change in their LTP or long-term plans (Climate Change and Resilience, 2020).

A great example of how extreme events can result in massive damages and costs due to a lack of preparations and failing infrastructures is the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in the United States. New Orleans suffered a $108 billion loss from property damage when its levees failed to protect them from extensive flooding. The majority of those affected were poor African Americans who lived in hardships many years after the event happened (Gibbens, 2019).

In New Zealand, climate change risks are also growing, and it will affect infrastructures and raise insurance costs. The NCCRA report presents more details on these risks.

Local councils in New Zealand have recognised that climate change is a “significant future issue” in their communities. Seventeen councils have announced climate emergencies as of June 2020. Climate change will also affect the council’s delivery of services to the community, including infrastructures like roads and water systems that are in danger of damage to sea-level rise and other climate change consequences (Climate change, 2020).

How can councils integrate climate change into its LTPs?

Climate Change (2020) of the Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM) suggests that the councils’ LTP for 2021 to 2031 should reflect the following: