Figure 1.1: Assessing effects of climate change on a particular council function or responsibility
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This "roadmap" is designed for people with specific issues for which climate and climate change play an important role. An example is an engineer charged with upgrading the stormwater drainage system for a city, who needs to use future rainfall projections to ensure the system will cope with the effects of climate change in 50 years' time. The boxes on the right show where to find guidance for each step.
Text description of Figure 1.1
This flow chart assists users of this manual to assess the effects of climate and climate change on specific council issues, functions or responsibilities. At each step of the flow chart, the 3rd column in the following table identifies where to seek guidance in this manual.
| Step | Stages in the Process to assess the effects of climate change | Relevant Section in Manual |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Establish the context of the function to be assessed, asset to be considered, problem to be solved, or decision to be made. | Section 6.5: The risk assessment process Section 7.2: Context of uncertainty |
| 2 | Is the function/decision sensitive to climate, and might the effect be magnified by climate change? | Table 4.1: Local government functions and possible climate change outcomes Table 4.2: Sensitivity to climate |
| 3 | If answer to Step 2 is YES, then Identify relevant climate factors. Develop preliminary scenarios of how these factors and relevant social and economic conditions may change in your area. Undertake an initial screening assessment. If the answer is NO, no further analysis is needed. | Table 4.1: Local government functions and possible climate change outcomes Chapter 4: Effects on local government functions and services Table 5.1: Climate parameter values for use in scenario analyses Chapter 2: Climate change projections Chapter 5: Developing scenarios Box 5.1: Screening assessment |
| 4 | Does screening assessment suggest material impacts and/or inadequate information? | Chapter 6: Risk Assessment Note: "Material impacts" covers negative or positive impacts |
| 5 | If answer to Step 4 is YES, then Undertake a detailed scenario analysis If the answer is NO, no further analysis is needed. | Table 4.3: Information, models, expertise for effects assessment Chapter 4: Effects on local government functions and services Tables 5.1 and 5.2: Climate parameters for use in scenario analyses Chapter 2: Climate change projections Chapter 3: Natural climate variations Chapter 5: Developing scenarios |
| 6 | Evaluate risks and priorities against other risks and opportunities | Chapter 6: Risk assessment |
| 7 | Use results in decisions about the function or activity being assessed, or management of the asset being considered. Carry information forward into relevant other council activities and plans. | Chapter 7: Integration into council decisions Appendix 5: Checklist for plans |
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