Identifying Climate Risks for New Zealand’s Diverse Community

It is unequivocal that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are warming the global climate system, and climate change is already affecting New Zealand. Over the past century, temperatures have increased, glaciers have melted, and sea levels have risen. Such changes will continue and their impacts increase, creating far-reaching consequences for people, the natural and built environment, the economy and governance.

AECOM led a multi-disciplinary team of academics/consultants who authored the NZ National Climate Change Risk Assessment (NCCRA), identifying the most significant climate change risks and identifying opportunities /knowledge gaps to be addressed.

The extremely compressed 9-month delivery timeframe was achieved by cutting across assessment areas efficiently and diving deep into issues in domain, accessing past regional and national expertise. Engagements involved experts/specialists who networked with stakeholders to deliver efficiently.

The NCCRA combines the outcomes from Māori/iwi and stakeholder engagement with scientific, technical and expert analysis. Under the guidance of the Kaumātua and Māori Engagement Advisors, the NCCRA project team focused their limited time and resources on engaging with Māori leaders directly involved in climate change-related matters and decision-making.

The NCCRA:

• Provides a national overview of effects by hazards/threats caused, exacerbated or influenced by climate change and risks/opportunities and gaps in evidence for further consideration.
• Supports decision-makers to better understand the range of climate change risks, with associated urgency.
• Provides best available evidence/information/assessment of risks to directly inform development of a National Adaptation Plan.

The approach engaged across five value domains, and included national, regional, local agencies, Māori groups and iwi. The project included workshops, hui, online surveys and focused individual meetings, with over 400 individuals engaged, contributing time, knowledge and expertise.

The NCCRA combined stakeholder engagement with technical rigor for concensus building. Under the guidance of the Kaumātua and Māori Engagement Advisors, the team focused their limited time/resources on engaging Māori leaders involved in climate change-related matters/decision-making.