Principles for an intergovernmental agreement for coastal planning and climate change in Australia

The future design of urban settlements and infrastructure in response to climate change will be critical in the future. Urban planning for human settlements will require both an intergovernmental and multidisciplinary approach integrating science and urban planning. The paper focuses on coastal urbanisation and the planning for climate change. The Australian coastal zone is home to over 85% of the Australian population with coastal townships expanding rapidly. The International Panel on Climate Change predicts that the Australian coast will experience increasing storm surge and rising sea levels. A set of principles is proposed that should underpin an intergovernmental agreement on coastal planning and climate change. The Agreement would include actions such as regional planning, policy integration, financial incentives and innovative regulatory mechanisms that use both mitigation and adaptation in complimentary and reinforcing ways. Selected case studies including peri-urban and sea change locations are used to examine the possibilities and obstacles for current urban planning and institutional arrangements to incorporate such mitigation and adaptation measures for climate change.