Climate Change Adaptation

Good Practice - Case Study

City of Melbourne Climate Change

Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan

About Adaptation Good Practice

Adapting to climate change is a relatively
new concept to many. It is important
to learn from practitioners who are
undertaking adaptation activities that are
beginning to have tangible outcomes.
Documenting examples of good practice
and identifying the criteria that makes
them work, enables those interested in
adaptation to learn about how to take
action.
There are expectations that Adaptation
Good Practice (AGP) includes a definite
start and finish to a project. However
climate change practitioners experiences
show that adaptation projects are often
steps in longer learning journeys. There
are no golden rules on how to adapt
and often practitioners across Australia
are inventing the wheel that drives
future AGP. This case study of City of
Melbournes Adaptation Strategy and
Action Plan is part of a series of 16 case

studies that recognise exemplars for AGP

in Australia. Through the development
of these stories of successful adaptation
it was refreshing to see an emergence
of similar experiences and challenges
regardless of the project or location. A
synthesis of these stories can be seen in
the Synthesis Report Climate Change
Adaptation Good Practice: Key lessons
from practitioners experiences, which
will help practitioners to understand that
they are not alone in their challenges
and to see some of the clear lessons
learned about what drives good practice
in adaptation.
Following the Snapshot there is a more
in depth narrative of the experiences,
learnings and network links to stimulate
further engagements and knowledge
sharing among the growing community
of adaptation practitioners.

This project was funded by the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation,

Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education
For further information contact:
Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education
Email: [email protected]
The Adaptation Good Practice project was undertaken by
D. Rissik and N. Reis from the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.
Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education) 2013. ISBN 978-0-9922764-3-0. This work is
licensed under the Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au
The Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education asserts the right to be recognised as author of the original material.
The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for any information
or advice contained herein.
Acknowledgements: Dr Philip Booth, Australian Climate Change Adaptation Research Network and Settlements Infrastructure (ACCARNSI) UNSW. Assistance from
Beth McLachlan, Senior Sustainability Officer, City of Melbourne.
References: 1. CSIRO & BOM (Bureau of Meteorology), 2007, Climate Change in Australia. Technical Report. Available at: www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au 2.
CSIRO & BOM, 2012. State of the Climate Report for 2012. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Available from: www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/
ho/stateClimate2012.pdf 3. Steffen, W., Hughes, L., Sahawalla, V. & Heuston, G., 2012. The Critical Decade: Victorian climate impacts and opportunities. Climate
Commission Secretariat, Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Commonwealth of Australia 4. IPCC SREX Report, 2012. Managing the Risks of
Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - Summary for Policymakers. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. C. B. Field et al., eds. Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://www.
ipcc-wg1.unibe.ch/srex/.../SREX-SPM_FINAL.pdf 5. Bambrick, H., Capon, A., Barnett, G., Beaty, M. and Burton, A., 2011. Climate Change and Health in the Urban
Environment: Adaptation Opportunities in Australian Cities. In: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 23 (2), 67-79. 6. Hughes, M., & McMichael, A., 2011. The Critical
Decade: Climate change and health. Canberra: Climate Commission. Available at: http:// climatecommission.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/111129 _ FINAL- FOR-WEB.
pdf 7. Steffen, W., Hughes, L., & Karoly, D., 2013. The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather. Climate Commission Secretariat, Department of Climate Change and Energy
Efficiency, Commonwealth of Australia 8. Hanna, E., Kjellstrom, T., Bennet, C. and Dear, K., 2011. Climate Change and Rising Heat: Population Health Implications for
Working People in Australia. In: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 23 (2), 14-23. 9. Hansen, A., Bi, P., Nitschke, M., Pisaniello, D., Newbury, J. and Kitson, A., 2011.
Older persons and heat-susceptibility: the role of health promotion in a changing climate. In: Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 22, 17-20.

Case study snapshot

City of Melbourne Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan

The City of Melbourne Climate Change

Adaptation Strategy and supporting
Action Plan address high-level risks of
extreme weather events including heat
waves and flash flooding, with the aim
to reduce their impending impacts on the
Citys current and evolving conditions,
including a projected doubling of the
population in the municipality to
145,000 people by 2030.
Strong leadership from the Lord Mayor
and senior managers throughout the
project has resulted in ongoing and
successful implementation of action
plans that include enhancing the
resilience and diversity of urban forests,
and researching design strategies for
cool roofs to reduce the Urban Heat
Island effect. Other measures of success
include leadership of a professional
climate change adaptation network,
comprising managers of partner
organisations, which has been formed to
discuss emergent issues and adaptive
learnings. These outcomes inform the
current research and development of a
new four-year Action Plan.

The project journey

The City of Melbournes adaptation
journey began with the publication of
Future Melbourne - City of Melbourne
(2008). This long-term plan for the future
direction of the City of Melbourne was
developed by Council through open
collaborative public engagement. It
acknowledged that Climate Change
presents key strategic risks for the
organisation, the community and key
stakeholder groups in the municipality.
And it made it clear to stakeholders
that the effect of climate change is an
imperative that must be addressed.
Future Melbourne provided the impetus
to undertake a comprehensive climate
change risk assessment, culminating
in an integrated City of Melbourne
Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
and supporting Action Plan. These have
been implemented by dedicated staff
members, with current responsibilities
for developing a new 4-year Action
Plan- implementing their plan. The
Citys adaptation journey has involved
comprehensive stakeholder consultation
with professional networks, other
councils, the Victorian and Australian
governments, universities and nongovernment organisations.

NSW
VIC

ACT

Melbourne

NCCARF 2013

Figure 1: The City of Melbourne (CoM)

comprises the city centre and the inner
suburbs

The project
By 2030, Melbourne is likely to be significantly affected by warmer
temperatures and heatwaves, lower rainfall, intense storm events
and flash flooding

Drivers for adaptation action

Recognition that Climate Change

presents key strategic risks for the City
of Melbourne Council (the CoM), the
community and key stakeholder groups
in the municipality.

Research and
Assessment
ision making
Dec d Planning
an

The CoM is cushioning, neutralising,

adjjusting and avoiding climate risks
and impacts by focusing on building
resiliance.

Reflect

Adaptation action

In particular, CoM is building water

system resiliance and increasing the
Citys passive cooling efficiency.

lementation
Imp

Risks and impacts addressed

By 2030, Melbourne is likely to be
significantly affected by warmer
temperatures and heatwaves, lower
rainfall, intense storm events and flash
flooding1. Drought and sea level rise
also present critical risks for the City.
Immediate high-level risks that require
addressing are intense rainfall and wind
events, heatwaves and drought.

Outcomes achieved
Comprehensive assessment of
critical risks and analysis of their
potential impacts and implications for
Melbourne now, in 2030, and in 2070
Action Plan developed to address key
risks and build resilience
Delivering a range of high value
adaptation/mitigation action steps
including:
Various Water Sensitive Urban
Design projects

3
Figure 2: City of Melbourne Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan Adaptation Good
Practice phase

Green Roofs
Heat mapping of Melbourne
Hot and cool spot analysis
Drainage infrastructure upgrades
Social research.

Emerging outcomes
Findings from new research projects
released in April 2013 will drive changes
in the new 4-year Action Plan, which
CoM is currently developing:
Port Phillip Bay Coastal Adaptation
Pathways Project
Urban Heat Island (UHI) study

Urban Forest Strategy

Cool Roofs

Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project

The project

The project
The City of Melbourne Climate Change
Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan
address high-level risks and are aimed
at reducing impacts on the Citys current
and evolving conditions, including a
projected doubling of the population
to 145,000 people by 2030. To identify
and assess the likelihood of critical risks
occurring now, in 2030, and 2070, CoM
drew on stakeholder inputs and scientific
evidence including the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth
Assessment Report (AR4 2007) and
Climate Change in Australia - Technical
Report1.

Key aims, objectives and actions

Undertake a comprehensive
assessment of high level climate
change risks
Determine which risks are regarded as
tolerable by the organisation and the
community, or critical and requiring
adaptation strategies.

Less rainfall and more chance of

drought
Extreme heatwaves and bushfires
Intense rainfall and wind storms
Sea level rise
Each risk was assessed on a 1 to 5 scale
for its likelihood of occurring and the
consequences. Critical risks requiring
the most serious management and

monitoring attained a combined rating

of 7 or more. All critical risks have been
detailed to identify their risk attributes,
stakeholders, recommended adaptation
measures and next steps.

Immediate impacts of intense

rainfall and wind events,
heatwaves and droughts
Risk ratings for intense rainfall are shown
in Table 1 below.

Table 1: City of Melbourne risk ratings for intense rainfall and wind events. A risk rating above 7 is
considered critical by Council and leads to high priority actions.

The City of Melbourne risks identified and assessed

Risk title and rating

Now 2030 2070

Mass stranding of people due to public transport stoppages, as a result of

flooding or storm damage

Adverse health outcomes due to emergency services being hindered by storm

and flood impacts, such as flooded roads, traffic delays and other blockages.

Increased potential for injuries or deaths occurring as a result of flash flooding.

10

Clarify the risk management

approach to reduce the likelihood
and consequence of critical risks, in
alignment with the Australian and New
Zealand risk standard AS-4360

Increased reparation costs following intense rainfall and wind events, including
damaged buildings, damaged or collapsed roads, damage to river banks and
associated infrastructure, general clean-up.

Business closure and job loss due to business interruption from storm damage
and flooding.

Develop and implement an Action

Plan focused on building resilience

Increased potential for injury, death, damage or delays resulting from damage to
or falling trees.

Lost tourism following storms or intense rainfall events.

Burst water supply pipes.

Increased potential human health risk as a result of sewer inundation.

Cleanup costs and disruptions from cars damaged/stranded by flash flooding.

Increased frequency and severity of public health risk from waterways. This
is due to increased toxin concentrations entering waterways following intense
rainfall events and reduced access for amenity purposes.

Public discontent due to reduced access to rivers and river banks for amenity
and bike/pedestrian commuting purposes following intense rainfall events.

Risks and impacts addressed

CoM was forewarned that by 2030, the
City is likely to be significantly affected
by warmer temperatures and heatwaves,
lower rainfall, intense storm events and
flash flooding1. In addition, four potential
extreme event scenarios for the broader
Melbourne region required a more
comprehensive assessment of these
climate change risks:

Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project

The project

Table 2: City of Melbourne risk ratings for extreme heat and bushfire events. A risk rating above 7
is considered critical by Council and leads to high priority actions.

The City of Melbourne risks identified and assessed

Risk title and rating

Now 2030 2070

Flash flooding in early February 2011

from the remnant of Cyclone Yasi that
brought chaos to Melbournes trains
and road traffic
Most recently, the angry summer of
2012-2013 which brought another
record-breaking run of heat wave days
and more flash flooding events to the
City7.

Increased heat stress related death / illness among at risk population groups.

Passengers become stranded as trains to the City of Melbourne are delayed /

cancelled in hot weather.

Blackout.

Increased violence / anti-social behaviour causing increased public nuisance

and hospital admissions.

Increased prevalence of food bourne disease.

Increased maintenance costs of assets and infrastructure.

Disruption to any outdoor event due to hot weather.

Reduced public and social use of space during heat waves.

Business interruption due to electricity blackout.

Heat stress related illness among outdoor City of Melbourne workers. This
is caused by an increased number of hot days and becomes especially
exacerbated during hot spells.

Respiratory illness and social disruption due to bushfire-related poor air quality.

Train and tram derailments / accidents result in injuries and major disruptions.

Reducing flash flooding

Increased closure of schools due to poor air quality.

Reducing potable water usage

Future liability and reputation damage relating to construction of dwellings or

infrastructure unsuited to projected climatic conditions.

Risk ratings for extreme heat waves and

bushfires are shown in Table 2 above.
These extreme weather events are
the most immediate high-level risks to
address, and are projected to happen
more frequently and/or with greater
intensity in coming years2,3,4.

and bushfire events. Their impacts can

be devastating on Council facilities,
businesses, parks and gardens, sports
facilities, critical infrastructure including
transport systems, and the health and
wellbeing of residents and visitors5,6.
Stark examples of these impacts include:

Sectoral impacts of each critical risk

are shown pictorially as cascading
consequences in the Figure 3 on page
7 for intense rainfall and wind events,
and Figure 4 for extreme heat wave

A run of 4 extreme heatwave days in

late January-early February 2009 that
culminated with the Black Saturday
bushfires

Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project

Response strategy
CoMs responses strategies and action
plans to cushion, neutralise, adjust or
avoid climate change risks and impacts
are focused on building resilience. Two
key areas of adaptation are considered
high value in their potential to reduce
impacts across several risks and provide
other benefits including enhanced
biodiversity:
1. Harvesting storm water across the
municipality and converting it into a
valuable resource that builds the Citys
water system resilience, by:

Watering parks and street trees

Protecting soil moisture levels to
benefit habitat and biodiversity.
2. Increasing the Citys passive cooling
efficiency to reduce the UHI effect,
which substantially heightens the
vulnerability of people in the city
to heat stress, injury or death.
especially children and elderly people
with cardiac, respiratory and diabetic
conditions8,9. Measures to reduce the
city temperature both inside buildings
and at street level can provide
considerable benefits to reducing
overall exposure.

The project

and urban growth. The Urban Forest

Strategy seeks to manage these
challenges and protect against future
vulnerability. This will be achieved by
measures including:
Increasing canopy cover from 22 per
cent to 40 per cent by 2040
Improving soil moisture
Informing and consulting with the
community
Increasing forest diversity with no
more than five per cent of one tree
species, no more than ten per cent of
one genus and no more than 20 per
cent of any one family.

Cool roofs program

http://greenroofs.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/ch2.jpg?w=567&h=425

Figure 3: Cool roof. Melbournes 6-star CH2 building, one of the greenest buildings in Australia

High value action plans

High value components of the Action
Plan are aimed at reducing critical risk
ratings to tolerable levels and enhancing
resilience. They include:
Funding urban forest projects
Trialling cool roof technologies to
minimise the UHI effect
Improving water efficiency in Councilmanaged assets, commercial
buildings, and residential buildings,
through CoMs water management
strategy: Total Watermark City as a
Catchment.

Measurable targets achieved

Measureable targets are being achieved
for the Urban Forest Strategy and Total
Water Mark - City as a Catchment. These

targets are described below. Broaderscale behavioural change targets are

often difficult to measure but CoM has
commissioned social research into
community resilience.

Implementation successes
Successes in implementing the
Action Plan
Conversations between CoMs
Sustainability Branch and Planning team
to address risks have been instrumental
to successfully implementing the
Action Plan, notably the following three
programs:

Urban Forest Strategy

Melbournes urban forest is facing two
significant challenges: climate change

Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project

CoM is committed to achieving zero

net emissions (ZNE) by 2020. A key
step in meeting this goal is reducing the
amount of energy used to cool the citys
buildings. In 2011, CoM commissioned
the University of Melbourne to research
how different cool roof products perform
in Melbournes climate. The results of this
research can be used to identify buildings
where the installation of a cool roof would
be beneficial. The installation of a cool
roof (specifically on commercial buildings)
will often result in decreased energy use
for cooling, therefore contributing to the
ZNE target. The 1200 Buildings Program
aims to encourage and support building
owners and facility managers to improve
the energy efficiency of commercial
buildings.

Total Water Mark - City as a

Catchment
Total Watermark City as a Catchment
outlines CoMs goal to become a
water sensitive city and aims to protect
waterways, respond to climate change
and sustainably manage the total water

The project

Radiant energy
redirected before
it is absorbed

4. Modifying standard corporate risk

management approaches which do
not lend themselves easily to climate
change risk management.

Outcomes achieved
Weathered Galv
Roofing 80+C

Radiant Heat Energy absorbed

by the surface and transmitted
to occupancy zones

Cool Roof
20 - 40 cooler

Cooler
Occupancy Zone

CoM

Figure 4: How cool roofs function to reduce

UHI effect

cycle. It frames the water components

of the Adaptation Strategy within a city
as a catchment context. The overall
municipal-wide target for reduction in
potable water consumption is 25 per
cent by 2020. This includes savings
across commercial and residential
sectors and Councils own operations.
This program is being fully reviewed in
2013 to align it with changes in policy
design, technology, behaviour change
and other factors.

Resolving challenges
CoM is resolving several key challenges
to implementing the Action Plan. These
include:

Shorter-term intended outcomes of the

Adaptation Strategy that have been
achieved include:
Initial Action Plan developed including
the Urban Forest Strategy
Initiating the Inner Melbourne
Climate Adaptation Network (refer to
Leadership and Engagement, page 9)
Research undertaken into heat and
flood risks in Melbourne
Community information on risks and
actions made publically available
Research into Cool Roofs made
available for building owners and
developers to consider
Ongoing implementation of the initial
Action Plan. This has encompassed
new research projects on economic
analyses of heat forecasts, and case
studies of flood risks in Southbank
and Arden Macaulay in the Port Phillip
Bay Coastal Adaptation Pathways
Project.

Emerging outcomes
Towards a new 4-year Action
Plan
A number of people and branches of
Council are contributing to the delivery
of the Action Plan, and to current
phases of research that inform the work
towards a new 4-year Action Plan. Other
anticipated longer-term outcomes of the
Adaptation Strategys rollout include:
Roles and responsibilities defined
Clarification of time frames around
longer-term impacts and how to
manage their associated risks,
through building community resilience
Developing good connections
between decision-makers, through the
Inner Melbourne Climate Adaptation
Network
Stepping up towards aligned,
consistent adaptation decision-making
across the City.

1. Embedding adaptation in different

areas of the organisation
2. Significant capacity building and
extensive capital investment required
for effective delivery.
3. Understanding and defining roles
and responsibilities of different
stakeholders in managing climate
change risks

Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project

Lessons learnt

Critical success factors

AGP analysis of the project
Success of this projects approach
to adaptation has been driven
by strong leadership in CoM,
good engagements with key
stakeholders and research
partners, and professional
networking through the Inner
Melbourne Climate Adaptation
Network.
This project is strong in:

Leadership
Engagement
Connectivity

Leadership
CoM has taken on a leadership role for
the municipality by demonstrating that
prudent stewardship is the requisite
response to climate change. The Lord
Mayor and other leaders at senior levels
in the organisation have been drivers in
making adaptation a priority and their
leadership has been essential to moving
forward in this space.
CoMs leadership has also been
demonstrated through initiating and
coordinating the Inner Melbourne Climate
Adaptation Network. This invite-only
network meets quarterly to actively
connect ongoing research, strategy
development, and implementation
work. It includes climate managers,
energy providers, water utilities, CSIRO,
Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), Victorian
Centre for Climate Change Adaptation
(VCCCAR), and Victorian Government
departments including Sustainability and
Environment (DSE), Transport, Health,

The Lord Mayor and other leaders at senior levels

in the organisation have been drivers in making
adaptation a priority and their leadership has
been essential to moving forward in this space.
Human Services and Emergency Service
organisations.
Community leaders and champions
were not specifically involved in the risk
assessment phase. However, CoM would
like to enhance community involvement
in developing resources to address
resilience, and aligning stakeholder
programs in the new 4-year Action Plan.

Leadership lesson learnt:

High level leadership ensures everyone
in the organisation is focussed and
aware.
Setting up an invite only network
actively connects leaders in the field
to meaningful research, strategy and
implementation.

Engagement
Within CoM, many internal partners
are engaged across the organisation in
incorporating climate risks in their work.
Through its Corporate Risk Register
of key strategic risks, responsibility for
adaptation risk management has been
allocated to branches of the organisation
including engineering, planning, events,
community engagement, and risk and
governance.
CoM aims to ensure that all stakeholders
and the community understand how
they share roles and responsibilities in

Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project

implementing an integrated action plan,

and also encourages them to undertake
their preferred adaptation options. These
aims can be achieved by participating
in collaborative projects and/or by
undertaking their own adaptation actions.
Key stakeholder groups are primarily
engaged through the Inner Melbourne
Climate Adaptation Network. CoM has
developed many relationships with
key stakeholders in the Network and
associated communities of practice
including the universities affiliated with
VCCCAR - University of Melbourne,
Monash, RMIT, and Swinburne.The
Network provides important functions in
integrating and aligning key stakeholders
and gatekeepers for major business and
infrastructure assets and investments,
and in scoping new initiatives. It also
provides opportunities for further
significant adaptation strategies
and actions to develop, within the
organisation and among other key
stakeholders.

Engagement lesson learnt:

Effective linkages with the right
players supports integrated planning,
common ownership of the approach
and commitment to the project for the
long-term.

Lessons learnt

Key stakeholder groups are primarily engaged

through the Inner Melbourne Climate Adaptation
Network.

Connectivity

Cost

A number of neighbouring councils and

some further afield have referred to the
Adaptation Strategy for higher-level
advice and direction in conducting their
risk assessments and developing their
action plans.

This project was partly funded by the

then Department of Climate Change and
Energy Efficiency (DCCEE) under its Local
Adaptation Pathways (LAPP) Program and
was published in June 2009.

Connectivity lesson learnt:

Connecting with all nearby councils,
ensures that users of the city are
strongly engaged.

Sustainability
CoMs adaptation work involves
considering future impacts of climate
change on the intergenerational needs
of residents, businesses and visitors
including health and community
facilities, and access to open space. The
Sustainability Branch is considering a
range of future impact scenarios to assist
in developing flexible longer-term plans
and strategies that will avoid or minimise
risks of maladaptation.

Sustainability lesson learnt:

The Adaptation Strategy influences long
term downstream outcomes including:
Influencing stakeholders, through
sharing information and ongoing work
Enhanced community awareness and
resilience

CoM has invested some $30 million in

climate change policy and initiatives in
201011, and $11.2 million in 2011-12.
See links section on page 12 for more
informaton.
Cost benefits analyses have been
conducted for two new reports on
economic impacts of:
Heat forecasts, released in April 2013
Flood risks in Southbank and Arden
Macaulay, as case studies in the
Port Phillip Bay Coastal Adaptation
Pathways Project
CoM has some funding and resources to
enable future phases of action planning
but in order to implement a number of
programs it will be looking for external
funding.

Cost lesson learnt:

Seed funding can support a process
with long term benefits to the
community.
Good planning can target initiatives and
expenditure into the future, ensuring
that realistic long-term outcomes can
be achieved.

Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project

10

Conclusion
Development of City of Melbournes
Adaptation Strategy was primarily
focused on conducting a comprehensive
risk assessment of extreme weather
events including heat waves and flash
flooding, and sea level rise to guide
decision-making. This was foundational
to developing firm relationships
between risk management and ongoing
implementation of the Action Plan. It is
aimed at reducing critical risk ratings to
tolerable levels, and enhancing resilience,
through various high value projects
including:

Gaps and future challenges

CoMs Adaptation Strategy is currently
not linked with specific regional or state
projects. However, this situation may well
change in the near future. The Senior
Sustainability Officer, City of Melbourne,
has indicated that We intend to consider
how our Strategy and work in this space
links with the newly released Victorian
Adaptation Strategy.

Funding urban forest projects

Trialling cool roof technologies to
minimise the UHI effect
Improving water efficiency through
CoMs water management strategy:
Total Watermark City as a
Catchment.
A new 4-year Action Plan is currently
being developed which will extend
the scope of the Citys adaptation
achievements.
CoM has successfully addressed a crucial
information gap in the organisation, by
identifying and assessing its high level
climate change risks.
However, some flow-on implementation
processes (e.g. to manage waste streams)
were the missing key components in
the Adaptation Strategy, at its release
in 2009. These implementation gaps
have since been addressed by a series
of collaborative research projects with
universities and key stakeholders that
are informing the development of a new
4-year Action Plan.

11

Networks

Links to more information and projects

Port Phillip Bay Coastal Adaptation Pathways Project- see
www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/Sustainability/AdaptingClimateChange/Pages/
PortPhillipBayCAPP.aspx
Urban Heat Island (UHI) study see www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/Sustainability/
AdaptingClimateChange/Pages/UHIReport.aspx
www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/Sustainability/CouncilActions/Pages/
AdaptingClimateChange.aspx
www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/sustainability/adaptingclimatechange/Pages/
AdaptingClimateChange.aspx
CoM investments in climate change policy and initiatives in 201011 and 201112 - www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/SUSTAINABILITY/COUNCILACTIONS/Pages/
AdaptingClimateChange.aspx

The Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice project was funded by the Australian Government and delivered by NCCARF