Assessing climate change risk and its implications for local government in Queensland

For the Local Governments of Queensland, climate change represents a major suite of risks and challenges that will influence and change the way many issues are approached and managed. For example, climate change is expected to impact on the liveability and lifestyle of communities and townships and affect industry productivity; it will also represent a key concern for infrastructure development and investment, land use, coastal management and zoning into the future. In addition to these challenges, the level of understanding of Local Government on how to assess the risks, vulnerability and identify new business models and opportunities presented by climate change appears to be highly variable. To address this, the Local Government Association of Queensland commissioned the Institute for Sustainable Regional Development (ISRD) to conduct a series o fclimate change impact risk assessment and adaptation focus group workshops. These workshops were designed to address the perceived shortcomings in Local Government’s knowledge and preparedness to respond to the challenges of climate change. The workshops targeted the assessment of risk and the exposure of local government and planning instrumentalities to climate change over a range of social, economic and environmental considerations. The workshop series was conducted in 2007 and was attended by over 50 Local Governments of Queensland. Supplementary workshops were also held at the Local Government Association of Queensland’s 2008 annual conference. This paper describes the workshop outcomes, including some of the regional climate change impacts that were expected under IPCC predictions, and the subsequent key risks, issues and implications that were identified. The paper also defines and explores the adaptations required of Local Governments to respond to climate change; as well as the policy and institutional issues that require action; and the support programs needed by Local Government in Queensland to achieve a proactive approach to climate change.