“Analysis shows the replacement costs of assets located between 50 and 150 cm from mean high tide levels is between $3 billion and $20 billion.
Advertisement
Many of these are decades old, created to specifications long before anyone was aware of sea-level rise combined with climate change which will bring more intense storm and storm surge event”.
Dr Wright warned in time a few coastal land will become uninhabitable.
“Homes, businesses and infrastructure worth billions of dollars have been built on low-lying land close to the coast”, Dr Wright said. Entitled Preparing New Zealand for Rising Seas: … “Dr Wright’s report makes timely and useful recommendations ranging from better quality guidance on managing the risks to assessing and preparing for the economic impacts of sea level rise”, he said.
Christchurch had almost 1000 homes on land which was less than 50cm above the spring high tide mark.
The areas identified in the report include the Hawke’s Bay Airport, the council-developed Parklands Residential Estate subdivision, and much of the suburbs of Tamatea, Marewa, Jervoistown, Meeanee, Te Awa and Awatoto.
Other regions the report mentions which sit less than 50cm above sea level of a spring-tide include 108 homes in Auckland, 103 homes in Wellington, 901 homes in Christchurch, 1321 homes in Napier, 276 homes in Whakatane, 77 homes in Tauranga, 45 homes in Motueka and 64 homes in Nelson.
If emissions were not mitigated, the sea could rise by a metre.
The last recommendation is to the Minister of Finance and is focused on the fiscal risks of sea level rise.
Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton said he agreed with the commissioner that sea level rise was a certainty, but there was time to address it.
The report said the most hard aspect of preparing for higher seas would be dealing with New Zealanders’ coastal properties.
Councils also needed better direction from central government, the commissioner found.
In New Zealand, sea level is projected to rise by about 30 centimetres between 2015 and 2065, the report says.
The strategy, developed by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Hastings District Council, Napier City Council and iwi, will determine which risks are acceptable to the community, and what responses might be taken.
The main threat is from rising groundwater in South Dunedin and surrounding area, as groundwater levels are forced up by rising sea levels.
Advertisement
The Environment Commissioner gives the warning to coastal communities in a sobering report.
