Changing with our climate.

What is the impact of climate change-driven drought on vulnerable communities? What happens to local spending, income, wages and employment during droughts, for example, and are there long-lasting effects? Where does labour go and does it return? What does drought do to agriculture and tourism profits, food production, land values, debt and communities?

Floods are the most frequent economically damaging natural hazard in New Zealand, and climate change and sea level rise are projected to increase their intensity and frequency. People are increasingly moving into populated places with elevated flood risk, where floods damage both dwellings and primary income sources.

This project looks at the question of sea level rise and insurance. It investigates the “tipping points” at which insurance companies might decide to refuse insurance to coastal property owners, and asks, what happens next?