Systems Approach to Regional Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Metropolises

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Introduction

The Systems Approach to Regional Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Metropolises project developed and tested an integrated, systems approach to assisting the 15 SCCG Member Councils in assessing their vulnerability to climate change and the barriers and opportunities associated with adaptation at the Local Government scale. The project also seeked to demonstrate the value of coordinated regional-scale responses to climate vulnerability through Local Government cooperation. The SCCG partnered with CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation Flagship and working in collaboration with the University of the Sunshine Coast, as part of the Australian Government Department of Climate Change (DCC) National Climate Change Adaptation Program.

Aim and Objectives

The aim of the project is to develop and trial a method for a systems approach to regional climate change adaptation strategies in large urban areas through:

  • Developing and testing an integrated (systems) method to generate information about the likely impacts of climate change and feasible adaptation strategies in the Sydney region.
  • Deepening the understanding of the likely impacts of climate change and resulting adaptation options in the Sydney region through integration of existing models, generation of new knowledge where there are significant gaps, scenario analysis, an analysis of adaptive capacity, and assessment of demonstration projects.
  • Assessing the transferability of the integrated (systems) method to other large urban areas.
  • Improve the capacity of councils to respond and adapt to climate change.
Outcomes / Outputs

The project will benefit SCCG Member Councils in the Sydney region and other Councils in large urban areas by:

  • Generating information about the likely impacts of climate change and feasible adaptation strategies in the Sydney region;
  • Deepening the understanding of the likely impacts of climate change through the identification of the barriers and opportunities to adapting to the impacts of climate change;
  • Building the capacity of stakeholders by making recommendations and identifying key interventions for future management decisions;
  • Working with stakeholders to build adaptation strategies into institutional structures and processes.