​Here are the three priorities MfE has recommended to the Ministers for the Environment and Climate Change. The briefing paper notes "These issues are of such magnitude that they are being felt across New Zealand. They contribute to wider impacts (eg, on housing affordability, tourism revenue and health), which means more than one benefit can be achieved if the right actions are taken — for example, the potential for significant emissions reductions through improved urban design."

​Insurance agencies have a lot more flexibility than banks (or councils) when it comes to adapting to climate change. That's because they can adjust their products on an annual basis to manage risks that increase over time. In contrast, when a bank agrees to a mortgage they're generally in it for the long haul.

The stocktake report (page 71) states: "To reduce some of this exposure, insurance is a requirement for residential mortgages in New Zealand, and failing to maintain insurance can trigger default. However, there is a general absence of compliance checks and lack of understanding of how well properties are insured. These leave a risk that many homes may be underinsured which increases banks' exposure to losses."

On first reading this sentence in the briefing from Ministry for the Environment to the new Ministers for the Environment and for Climate Change I thought it mainly related to changing the Resource Management Act away from its current effects-based approach to more of an outcomes focus.
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However, the advice recommends complementing regulatory changes with a strong emphasis on non-regulatory actions such as codes of practice, sharing of information, financial incentives and working alongside businesses, sectors or communities to achieve shared outcomes.

​This upcoming report could be a really valuable input into NZ's future reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of the Biological Emissions Reference Group is "to collaboratively build a robust and agreed evidence base on the opportunities available now and in future to reduce biological greenhouse gas emissions (methane and nitrous oxide) in New Zealand’s primary industries, and what the costs, benefits, and barriers to doing so are."

​It won't always be up to councils to be the bearer of bad news to property owners affected by climate change. I learnt last week that a homeowner in an area increasingly affected by coastal hazards has been told that insurance will cover their recent damage from Cyclone Gita, and only one more event in future. Then they will be unable to make further claims.

That means anyone buying that property in future is unlikely to be able to get insurance, and will therefore be unable to gain a mortgage associated with that property.