New Zealand on Wednesday released its first national climate crisis adaptation plan to deal with fires, floods and other natural disasters that have become more frequent and severe in the oceanic country due to global warming.
“Severe weather events that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago are now occurring with a speed and intensity we have never experienced before,” New Zealand Climate Change Minister James Shaw said in a statement released today alongside the plan .
The New Zealand government, based on the first national climate change risk assessment released in 2020, includes 120 actions and responses to protect homes, infrastructure, communities, heritage and businesses in the country.
One such action is the release of year-end online information on the risks of erosion, flooding, sea level rise, drought and other land issues that directly impact housing, investment and business choices.
“Even with 1.5 degrees of warming (as envisioned by the Paris Agreement) we will see the impact of climate change on our communities and the way we live our lives. It is therefore absolutely crucial that we do everything we can to adapt to these changes,” the minister said.
Under the plan, measures and new climate risks is reviewed every six yearsthrough consultations with various sectors, including Maori, to find urgent responses to these issues, among other actions.
One of the strongest criticisms of this plan is that it does not address who will pay for the costs of climate change damage and adaptation, and the mechanisms to fairly order residents to permanently leave their homes in response to natural disasters. .
“It is important that more direction and support is given, particularly to local governments, to help with short-term decision-making and how this plan will be funded and resourced,” said the Minister and CEO of New Zealand Sustainable Business Council, Mike Burrell, in a separate statement.
Jacinda Ardern’s Labor government announced in May that it would implement a NZ$2.9 billion (US$1.809 million or €1.777 million) plan Guidelines to reduce pollutant emissions in New Zealand over the next four yearsespecially in the transport sector.
The New Zealand government, whose parliament declared a climate emergency in December 2020, has committed to implement it one of the world’s most ambitious plans to reduce emissions with the goal that the global temperature does not rise by more than 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial age and is emissions-neutral by 2050. EFEverde
Follow EFVerde on Twitter