Adapting Together: Local Government Leadership in a Changing Climate

Customer challenge

Even under the most optimistic assumptions for global decarbonisation efforts, Australia’s councils will face impacts from more frequent and severe extreme events (e.g. heatwaves, droughts, floods, and storms), as well as changes in long-term average conditions (e.g. rising sea levels and shifts in average rainfall). The Australian Local Government Association engaged Nation Partners and Ricardo to develop a new report on the approaches councils are taking to adapt to climate change, and the economic, social and environmental value of these approaches.

Ricardo solution

Ricardo assessed the costs and benefits of adaptation actions delivered by local governments, through economic analysis of five new case studies from across Australia. Findings from the case studies were then scaled to estimate national economic contribution of local government adaptation. Actions considered in this study covered the areas of urban greening, strategic floodplain retreat, bushfire preparedness programs, and planning controls for future sea level rise.

The cost-benefit analysis found that projects produce benefits of at least $0.8 and $3.1 per $1 of cost. This modelling likely underrepresents the value of local government adaptation, given many benefits such as additional employment, improved productivity and improved mental health could not be quantified. The analysis also found that local governments are already making significant investments in climate adaptation. A conservative estimate of current Australian local governments’ direct expenditure on climate adaptation actions is $400 million per annum or $2 billion to 2030. This $2 billion investment is estimated to benefit local communities by between $2.2 and $4.7 billion. The report shows that increasing Australian Government funding by at least $400 million per year—bringing total local government adaptation funding to $800 million annually—would more than double national benefits. Councils that can plan and deliver adaptation measures over multiple years achieve higher returns, as they can stage projects logically, integrate maintenance, and refine actions based on monitoring results. Ad-hoc, short-term funding risks inefficiency and lower returns.

Customer benefit

This report provides evidence of the value of local government action on climate change. ALGA has called for the Commonwealth Government to establish a 10-year Adaptation Fund that provides dependable resources to councils to prepare their communities for the impacts of a changing climate. The report supports this request for more consistent, ongoing funding for adaptation and demonstrates the significant public benefit from this proposed funding.