With the Government due to release its draft National Adaptation Plan for consultation this month, SBC’s Principal Advisor Climate Action & CLC Manager Laurette Siemonek reflects on the criticality of adaptation, the work SBC and CLC are already doing in this space, as well as the upcoming engagement process for developing a joint SBC/CLC response to the draft plan.

Just as we’ve built our resilience to soggy oven chips, by incorporating and adapting to life with an air fryer – and as a result crispy chip goodness – so too must we build the resilience of our businesses and communities and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

To date, our international and national climate change response has largely focussed on mitigation, in an effort to stop, slow, and reverse climate change. However, climate change is already happening. The flooding on the East Coast is a recent example of the sorts of impacts we are seeing more frequently. This means that mitigation alone in not enough, especially without large-scale national and international climate action, which was reinforced in March by the IPCC through their AR6 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability report. Therefore, we must both rapidly reduce emissions and adapt to the existing and future effects of climate change.

SBC members and CLC signatories recognise the importance of this two-pronged approach, which is why in March this year, they established a joint Adaptation Working Group, co-chaired by IAG. The group brings together 17 member companies who are working to define what adaptation means for business, raise the profile of business adaptation, and increase adaptation capability across the membership. In addition, CLC is working to embed greater adaptation considerations into their proposed new statement of ambition (requirements to be a member) which will be launched later this year.

The Government is also developing its adaptation response, launching consultation on its draft National Adaptation Plan (NAP) this month. The NAP will outline how the top priority climate risks facing New Zealand, which were identified in the first National Climate Change Risk Assessment released in 2020, will be addressed over the next six years. SBC and CLC will develop a joint submission, following a similar engagement process to that of the Emissions Reduction Plan discussion document and the Climate Change Commission’s Draft Advice responses last year, providing initial analysis of the draft plan, hosting online workshops, and circulating written submission drafts for feedback. Keep an eye out for details in your inbox next week outlining the engagement opportunities we’ll be facilitating throughout the six-week consultation period.

We look forward to connecting with you all throughout that process – BYO chips.

Contact: Laurette Siemonek, Principal Advisor Climate Action & CLC Manager

Phone:

Email: [email protected]