‘Forced departure traumatic’
It presents the government with a difficult choice: what is protected, where should one retreat? The question of who bears the costs is also a politically sensitive one.
New Zealand’s local government chair, Stuart Crosby, said it is unacceptable that financial responsibility rests solely with affected residents or municipalities. In addition, he argues that habitat abandonment should be a last resort. “Forced eviction is very traumatic for residents,” he told RNZ.
New legislation needed
New legislation is needed to force citizens to leave a risk area. That is a political challenge, requiring support from both the government and the opposition, Carr said. “We need strong leaders, and the community needs to support them in making those hard decisions. We need to be guided by science,” said the climate commissioner.
According to the government, adaptation to the consequences of climate change is necessary. But at the same time Prime Minister Ardern called for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to prevent further sea level rise.
“We should not just accept that the sea level will rise even further than is already expected,” Ardern said in response to the study. “We all have to contribute to limit further climate change as much as possible.”
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