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Meeting of the Climate Action Joint Committee
Date: Friday 9 May 2025
Time: 1:00pm
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Venue: |
Council Chamber Hawke's Bay Regional Council 159 Dalton Street NAPIER |
Agenda
Item Title Page
1. Welcome/Karakia/Housekeeping/Apologies
2. Conflict of Interest Declaration
3. Confirmation of Minutes of the Climate Action Joint Committee held on 18 November 2024
Decision Items
4. Hawke's Bay Climate Change Risk Assessment 3
Friday 09 May 2025
Subject: Hawke's Bay Climate Change Risk Assessment
Reason for Report
1. This item is for the Climate Action Joint Committee to receive the Hawke’s Bay Climate Change Risk Assessment and seeks agreement to recommendations to the five partner councils.
Background
2. Regional climate change risk assessments have been recognised across the country as a key foundational piece for driving adaptation action and enabling communities to build resilience to a changing climate. Many regions and districts have already completed their first climate change risk assessments, following the publication of the first National Climate Change Risk Assessment (NCCRA) in 2020.
3. In August 2024, the Climate Action Joint Committee (the Joint Committee) requested that work proceed at pace to produce the region’s first climate change risk assessment based on existing available data and information, noting it would be a starting point for future work.
4. The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) subsequently engaged independent risk experts Urban Intelligence to undertake this assessment. Data to inform the assessment was gathered from national and local sources, including information provided by the five councils. Significant collaborative effort has been critical for both the efficient collation and provision of information, and delivery of this work at pace.
5. In November 2024, the Joint Committee received an update on the assessment process and progress, including key themes coming through in the assessment.
6. The output of this work is a public-facing technical report. For the first time, this report brings together available data and information appropriate for this assessment with expert analysis to provide a snapshot in time of Hawke’s Bay’s climate risks at regional and district-levels. It is intended to serve as a shared resource and public evidence base about our known climate risks, and as a foundation for further climate risk and adaptation work across the region.
Discussion
7. This climate change risk assessment gives us our first regional picture of climate risks. It highlights risks that require further attention, identifies gaps in our knowledge base, and is a foundation for further action.
8. The Hawke’s Bay Climate Change Risk Assessment contains an assessment of risks at regional and district levels. It examines both direct and indirect risks from slow onset climatic changes (e.g. sea level rise, changing temperatures) and severe weather events. It considers both opportunities and threats to our way of life from a changing climate.
9. The report notes that adaptation is a locally led process of managing risks over time, with risk assessments forming the evidence base to enable communities to move from reactive to proactive action.
10. At a regional level, risks have been assessed across six domains, consistent with the approach taken to the NCCRA. These domains are the Natural Environment, Built Environment, Human, Economic, Governance and Iwi/Māori.
11. A different approach was taken to assessing risks at a district-scale in this first assessment. Given dataset variability and the need to take a consistent approach to assessing risks, a select range of hazards has been used to assess hazard exposure at a district level, and where possible, assessing how this exposure may change over time with climate change. The district-level assessments focus on risks to physical infrastructure, communities and local economies.
What this first report tells us
12. The report identifies key findings at both regional and district-levels. While it does not contain specific recommendations for the Joint Committee or individual councils, it does set out clear opportunities for further work at regional and local levels. This includes ongoing opportunities for collaboration and local government-led adaptation efforts, but also for communities to be empowered to take adaptation action.
13. The report also specifically notes key findings and opportunities to improve climate data and information. Undertaking this assessment has highlighted to staff the scale of this challenge and the need for a co-ordinated and collaborative approach to ongoing investment in climate data.
14. While the report is technical in nature, effort has been made to present findings in a visually appealing way using accessible language. In addition, communication collateral has been prepared to support the report’s release that summarises what the risk assessment report tells us at regional and district levels.
15. The final technical report is embargoed until its release following the Joint Committee’s meeting to receive it.
Future iterations of the regional climate change risk assessment
16. This first risk assessment is a significant milestone for the region. As our data and information improves and changes, and adaptation action to reduce risks are implemented, our risk profile as a region will change over time.
17. There is flexibility as to how frequently regional or district risk assessments can be undertaken. In future, there may be legislative requirements to undertake regional or local climate risk assessments. The National Climate Change Risk Assessment is undertaken every six years, which is a requirement of the Climate Change Response Act 2002.
18. Staff expect decisions about the timing of future regional climate risk assessments to be dependent on the desired scope and scale of any future assessments, also noting that risk prioritisation could be undertaken through more localised risk assessments.
19. Completing this risk assessment marks the end of phase 1 of this work and has only been possible through joint funding and collaborative effort. Staff recommend that provision be made by each council in 2027-2037 long term plans to ensure that future iterations of this assessment can be undertaken.
Financial and resource implications
20. There are no financial or resourcing implications from decisions sought through this paper.
Decision Making Process
21. Council and its committees are required to make every decision in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 (the Act). Staff have assessed the requirements in relation to this item and have concluded:
21.1. Given the nature and significance of the decisions sought, the Joint Committee can exercise its discretion and make a decision without consulting directly with the community.
That the Climate Action Joint Committee
1. Receives and considers the Hawke’s Bay Climate Change Risk Assessment staff report.
2. Receives the independent Hawke’s Bay Climate Change Risk Assessment technical report produced by Urban Intelligence.
3. Recognises and acknowledges the collaborative effort to deliver a public-facing assessment that forms the first shared evidence base of climate risk for the region.
4. Considers the key findings and opportunities for further work set out in the technical report, and agree to make Joint Committee recommendations to the five partner councils to:
4.1. Note the publication of the Hawke’s Bay Climate Change Risk Assessment technical report
4.2. Consider the findings and opportunities for further work outlined in the technical report, including how to integrate climate risk information into decision-making at all levels
AND
4.3. Any other recommended decisions the Joint Committee considers appropriate.
Authored by:
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Amberley Gibson Climate Change Lead Strategic Advisor |
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Approved by:
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Desiree Cull Strategy & Governance Manager |
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