Adapting to Avoidable and Unavoidable Climate Change: What must Aotearoa New Zealand do?

Abstract

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report Climate Change 2022: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability gives a stark warning of the urgency to adapt to avoidable and unavoidable climate change impacts and to transition to a more climate-resilient future. Aotearoa New Zealand has made some progress in setting up the institutional and planning frameworks for adaptation, but implementation is slow. Delay will increase the adverse consequences for humans and ecosystems, widen the adaptation gap, and increase the cost and damage burden to current and future generations, and those least able to adjust. Taking proactive actions today to avoid further exposure will enable a fairer and more robust and effective path for adaptation. Here we develop a report card for Aotearoa New Zealand’s adaptation effort and recommend what we must do next.