The Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) is backing calls for New Zealand to speed up progress on adapting to climate change and its impact on Kiwi’s lives and property.

The Climate Change Commission’s first monitoring report into New Zealand’s adaptation efforts found the work is not happening at the scale or pace that is required.

"We support the Commission’s findings that urgent action is needed to address the impacts of climate change. The report shows climate change risks are significant and rising. The modelling estimates around 750,000 people and 461,000 buildings are at risk of flooding, involving many billions of dollars in assets," ICNZ chief executive Kris Faafoi said.

"New Zealand is vulnerable to natural disasters and adapting now to reduce the risk of climate change will help protect our local communities, jobs, businesses and economy. The Auckland Anniversary Weekend and Cyclone Gabrielle events are estimated at $4 billion in insurance claims to help people get back on track. Overall, the Treasury estimates the damage to infrastructure is up to $14.5 billion.

"We also back the Commission’s call that there are things we can do together as a country to provide long term clarity and certainty around our response to climate change. A co-ordinated effort by the Government, councils, iwi, the private sector and local communities to invest in mitigation and adaptation to reduce risk can help keep insurance affordable and accessible.

"Looking at some of the Commission’s recommendations, the development of an adaptation framework that sets out a clear mandate for local planning and action can help individual communities manage risk and respond appropriately to the impacts of climate change, from adaptation measures to managed retreat as well as collecting information about community risk.

"We know too that investment in climate adaptation is likely to be sizeable. Further clarity about how the costs of local adaptation will be shared and the involvement of new targeted funding and financing instruments will be crucial. 

"We also support the Government taking the lead on exploring ways to facilitate access, availability, and sharing of expertise and information to support local adaptation planning and action.

"Climate change is an urgent issue that has far reaching impacts for New Zealand and investing in adaptation now makes sense. Research shows that every dollar invested in adaptation yields substantial economic benefits.

"By addressing these risks now, New Zealand can avoid the higher costs associated with future climate-related disasters and support a growing economy that is resilient and sustainable," Kris Faafoi said.