Innovation in the governance of climate change adaptation

Posted on 16 Apr 2021
Updated on 16 Apr 2021
2-minute read
Climate solutions Public policy and governance

A collaborative investigation sought to identify the role of governance in effectively engaging community uptake of climate change adaptation.

RESEARCH OUTPUTS

This project explored the modes of governance that might best enable regional system transformations by examining current thinking on the governance of adaptation in four parts:

1. Professor Lee Pugalis of the UTS Institute for Public Policy and Governance reviewed the key concepts, dilemmas and a framework for analysis of governance at the scale of the sub-national region, at which, in NSW at least, formal governance is lacking. He uncovered a profusion of terms to describe often subtle variations in governance forms.

2. Pugalis then examined in greater depth some regional governance typologies with a focus on networks. He concluded that due to the uncertainties of climate adaptation, network governance methods offer a fruitful way of providing effective governance capacity. He indicated that there is no ‘one size fits all’ model for governance reform and development of place-based approaches to the governance of climate adaptation will likely offer a way forward.

3. Suzanne Dunford (ISF) then explored the attributes of governance that may support communities to adapt, anticipate and manage transitions at a regional scale. She identified subsidiarity (devolution of decision-making to the smallest, lowest or least centralised competent authority) as an effective approach to address adaptation actions that seek to reduce vulnerability to the range of economic, social and technological drivers that act on regional communities and that will be amplified under climate change.

4. Isabel Sebastian and Brent Jacobs (ISF) then explored relationality as the type of behaviour that should be encouraged in governance participants, and more broadly throughout the community, in light of the changes already occurring in modes of governance in society.

The Emergence of Relationality in Governance of Climate Change Adaptation (2020) (Report)