Sydney Councils 'politically scared' to reveal climate risks

Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald 11 Mar 09;

AS the Federal Government grapples with carbon trading, a new report says local councils across Sydney think little is being done to protect the city against climate change.

Councils risk being made bankrupt by litigation, many points around Sydney are highly vulnerable to rising sea levels and climate change adaptation planning remains "tentative and ad hoc", said the report, produced for the Sydney Coastal Councils Group.

The report contains dozens of in-depth, anonymous interviews with local government workers in three representative areas - Mosman, Leichhardt and Sutherland Shire - giving an inside view of council staff on the front line of climate change adaptation in Sydney.

The group's executive officer, Geoff Withycombe, said he hoped the report would mark a turning point in climate change planning and lead to more transparency and co-operation between local, state and federal governments.

"Councils at the moment are a bit scared to declare the risks to their communities because they are waiting for direction from the state government," Mr Withycombe said. "Communities are prepared to accept some degree of risk, but they don't like surprises and they need some solid information to go on."

The interviews with council workers were undertaken by researchers from the CSIRO, University of the Sunshine Coast, and WWF Australia. They found that there was enthusiasm for tackling the issue, but this was often hampered by a lack of direction, funds and hard information about climate science.

"For example, while some councils have undertaken analyses of climate impacts, such as sea level-rise mapping, they have been reluctant to communicate the results to the public in the way they originally anticipated because of issues relating to liability and property value," the report noted.

One local government worker said a local study on climate change adaption "had to be confidential because they didn't want any of the community to know about it. So they're still politically very scared by it."

Despite the release last month of NSW Government guidelines on the impact of rising sea levels, Mr Withycombe said there was great uncertainty in councils over warning residents of the risks, and local governments were worried they would be sent bankrupt if they gave advice that was then relied on by residents, property developers and insurers.

The draft government guidelines, released by the NSW Environment Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, and Planning Minister, Kristina Keneally, said sea levels would rise by 40 centimetres by 2050. But this may be too conservative, according to reports set to be released overnight in Denmark, where about 2000 of the world's leading climate scientists have gathered for a conference that will unveil the latest climate change research.

The scientists will update the findings of the landmark 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and are expected to conclude that climate change is accelerating faster than previously thought.

The benchmarks for the rise of sea levels adopted by the NSW Government mean that vital infrastructure, such as the Sydney Airport runway which extends into Botany Bay, may need to be reinforced. The Government said that its benchmarks would be revised as scientific research is refined.