Australia: Queensland climate adaptation strategy - Built environment and infrastructure sector adaptation plan

Developing this Built Environment and Infrastructure (BE&I) Sector Adaptation Plan (SAP) involved the scoping of climate risk for the sector, identification of enablers and barriers to addressing these risks, and recognising gaps that hinder sector-specific adaptation action and practice. A set of priority adaptation actions has evolved from these findings. These outcomes form the basis of this report, the purpose of which is to inform the design of subsequent projects and processes that will address and implement the priority actions.

Actions in response to the key findings in order of decreasing priority are:

1. Identify incentives to encourage and facilitate the BE&I sector to adapt to climate change and to design and build assets to go beyond minimum standard requirements.
2. Build climate risk awareness and capacity among BE&I sector practitioners, stakeholders and the wider community including: develop and communicate a set of practitioner-informed climate change projection guidelines; and develop and communicate climate projection data interpretive guidelines for broader communities.
3. Develop a report that explores and documents the intra- and inter- dependencies within and between the BE&I sector and other societal and economic sectors.
4. Work with the state government to aid them identify initiatives that demonstrate the benefits of effective climate change adaptation within their own operations and that motivates climate change adaptation amongst their suppliers.
5. Engage the financial sector on how to develop financial and insurance mechanisms that incentivise the provision of climate-resilient products and services from the BE&I sector and their demand from consumers.
6. Create an inventory of climate change adaptation information, tools and guidelines for the BE&I sector.
7. Create a community of practice within the BE&I SAP working group with a rotating chair.