Who pays for climate adaptation? Six political
parties to join national debate on Aotearoa’s future
Who pays for climate adaptation, who makes the hard
calls, and how fast can Aotearoa move from planning to
action?
These questions will be put to political
leaders, adaptation experts, councils, researchers and
practitioners at Whakawātea: Clearing the Way for
Adaptation, the national conference of the Aotearoa Society
of Adaptation Professionals | Rōpū Urutaunga
Aotearoa.
The conference will be held on 20 to 21
August 2026 at Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington.
A
major cross-party panel will bring together representatives
from across the political spectrum to discuss each party’s
vision for climate adaptation, collaboration and priorities.
The panel will be facilitated by former Climate Change
Ambassador Kay Harrison, and brings together Minister of
Climate Change Hon. Simon Watts, Labour climate change
spokesperson Hon. Deborah Russell, Green Party co-leader
Chlöe Swarbrick, Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb (The Opportunity
Party), Hon. Shane Jones, Minister and Deputy Leader of New
Zealand First, and ACT climate change spokesperson Simon
Court.
The conference comes as communities, councils,
infrastructure providers, insurers, iwi, businesses and
central government face escalating decisions about climate
risk, funding, affordability, managed retreat, investment
and intergenerational fairness.
Across two days, the
programme asks how Aotearoa can close the gap between
knowing what is coming and making the decisions needed to
prepare.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
Sessions will explore how New Zealand pays
for adaptation, what can be learned from international
experience, how adaptation is being implemented in
communities, Indigenous and systems-based approaches to
building resilience, and the psychological toll of working
at the front line of climate change
adaptation.
Featured speakers include Professor James
Renwick, Anahera Nin, Dr Shalini Vajjhala, Associate
Professor Johanna Nalau, Associate Professor Gerhard Reese
and others working at the forefront of adaptation policy,
science, finance and practice.
A dedicated panel on
funding adaptation will feature economist Shamubeel Eaqub,
Dr David Hall of Toha Network, and independent director
Rachel Sanson, facilitated by Kris Faafoi, Chief Executive
of the Insurance Council of New Zealand.
The programme
also includes workshops and sessions on real-world
adaptation practice, the National Climate Change Risk
Assessment and National Adaptation Plan, natural hazards,
eco-anxiety, and Waka Hourua in Practice, which explores the
dual-hull waka as a model for navigating complex,
interconnected systems.
“Adaptation is no longer a
future issue. It’s already affecting homes,
infrastructure, insurance, council planning and community
wellbeing,” says ASAP | RUA Co-Convenor Sarah Bogle.
“Whakawātea brings together leaders across policy,
science, finance, iwi, local government and practice to
tackle the hard questions of who pays, who decides and how
Aotearoa moves from planning to action.”
The full
programme is available at: https://www.asapconference.co.nz/_files/ugd/623971_f0b63bc7117244818a0ead9fba5f3d43.pdf
About
ASAP | RUA
The Aotearoa Society of Adaptation
Professionals | Rōpū Urutaunga Aotearoa is the national
professional body for people working to prepare Aotearoa for
a changing climate. ASAP | RUA connects expertise across
communities, iwi, research, policy, infrastructure, finance
and practice to strengthen adaptation capability and support
better decisions for the
future.
