The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) is calling for all spheres of government to show leadership when it comes to dealing with the impacts of rising sea levels, saying that a range of recent decisions demonstrates politics taking precedent over globally-recognised science.
PIA Chief Executive and Chair of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council’s Resilience Strategy Task Group Kirsty Kelly says that climate change is real, and planning has a crucial role to play in dealing with the anticipated impacts.
“Whether it is a result of natural or human activity the effects of climate change are global and there is scientific consensus to support the imminent threat global warming poses,” Ms Kelly said.
“The impacts of climate change will affect almost every facet of Australia’s economy, society and environment.
“We are concerned that the existing ad hoc approach is not sustainable and is compromising our ability to shapes decisions of today to ensure that we are planning for the future. Clear leadership from Federal Government is required to support and drive the action through state and territory governments down to local governments.”
Ms Kelly pointed to the recent decision by the Queensland Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney to direct a local government to remove planning for sea level rise in its planning scheme is one example where there is conflict between government positions. The Australian Government’s position paper Adapting to Climate Change in Australia clearly states “sea level rise of up to 1m cannot be ruled out”.
“We need to move beyond the politics when it comes to planning for our future,” Ms Kelly said.
“The way we deal with the impacts will be varied for each location, its exposure and defined risk.
“Good planning can help to ensure that we are providing evidence-based responses and embed these into our planning schemes and planning policies.”
Earlier this week, the Australian Government announced a $200m contribution to the Green Climate Fund. While welcoming the contribution the Institute called on the Australian Government to back its decision regarding the Green Climate Fund by initiating a national discussion to clearly drive the direction necessary to reignite Australia as a leader in combating the impacts of climate change.