Climate Change: Adaptation for Queensland Issues Paper QCOSS Submission, October 2011 1
Climate Change: Adaptation for Queensland QCOSS response to the Issues Paper Introduction Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) is the peak body for over 600 welfare and community sector organisations in Queensland. For over 50 years QCOSS has worked to promote social justice and exists to provide a voice for Queenslanders affected by poverty and inequality. We act as a State-wide Council that leads on issues of significance to the social, community and health sectors. We work for a Fair Queensland and develop and advocate socially, economically and environmentally responsible public policy and action by community, government and business. About this Submission QCOSS welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Queensland Government s Climate Change Adaptation strategy. QCOSS endorses the need for thoughtful and significant planning and support by the State Government to ensure Queenslanders live in resilient communities with the capacity to adapt to the significant impacts of climate change. We also wish to acknowledge the actions the Government has already introduced to assist Queensland households and businesses respond to these impacts. While infrastructure and government structures are a vital consideration for climate change adaptation, it is essential that the human element is not overlooked. Resilience is a much overused phrase. This overuse hides that fact that resilience refers to human capacity. It is human resilience, whether individual or communal, that needs to be at the centre of Queensland s efforts to adapt to climate change. And it is the most vulnerable of Queensland s citizens that are the concern of QCOSS. Given QCOSS s particular interest in matters affecting low income, disadvantaged and vulnerable Queenslanders, in this submission we have limited our comments to some specific areas of the issues paper; namely the human settlements, emergency management and health sections. We also make some observations which have general relevance to the development and support of resilient communities. In addition to this written submission, QCOSS has participated in the public consultation process and has met with officers from the Office of Climate Change to elaborate on our observations. There are four key points that QCOSS wishes to contribute to the discussion; namely That the human element is critical to any discussion on climate change adaptation, and that vulnerable groups need to be a central focus in any adaptation strategy. That affordability of basic goods and services should be a central concern in climate change adaptation. That the community sector should play a vital role in climate change adaptation strategies and must be engaged in planning and monitoring change. That research on and monitoring of the impact of strategies on vulnerable members of the community is an important part of climate change adaptation. 2
Key recommendations All adaptation strategies must identify and target the most vulnerable in society. The cost to people (affordability) of implementing climate change adaptation strategies must be identified and modelled and decisions made as to whether the adaptation strategy is acceptable against this criterion. Where there are unavoidable impacts on the affordability of essential goods and services, mechanisms must be in place to respond and offset costs through Community Service Obligation payments to those affected and in need. It is important for any new program or policy approaches to emergency management or community resilience/capacity to recognise the significant role of the community services sector and make maximum use of existing community networks and activities. Climate change adaptation strategies need to include mechanisms to monitor the health and wellbeing of vulnerable communities to provide early warning of negative social impacts and to inform targeted strategies to improve social cohesion. Adaptation strategies should outline monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and include ways to respond to information gained from these mechanisms. 3
Vulnerable groups and climate change It is understood that climate change itself will have a disproportionate impact on low income families and disadvantaged communities in Australia, many of whom live in areas more likely to be adversely affected by direct climate changes and most of whom have far less ability than others to relocate or make necessary adjustments. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that: the impacts of climate change will fall disproportionately upon developing countries and the poor persons within all countries, and thereby exacerbate inequities in health status and access to adequate food, clean water and other resources 1. Similarly there are substantial equity implications of policy responses designed to assist with mitigation or adaptation to climate change such as those raised in the Issues Paper. The economic, social and emotional capacity of people to respond to strategies to protect them from climate change such as adopting promoted behavioural changes, installing new technologies or reducing their use of energy is not evenly distributed within the community. A climate change adaptation strategy must acknowledge the already significant disadvantage that exists within our community. An estimated 470,000 or 10.6% of Queensland s population live below the poverty line (http://www.qcoss.org.au/qcoss-anti-poverty-week-statement-2011). In addition, due to recent rapid increases in the cost of essentials such as housing, electricity and water, many Queenslanders face significant financial pressure that is making the basic standard of living unaffordable. (http://www.qcoss.org.au/content/cost-living-report-issue-1-may- 2011) The results of the ACOSS community sector survey bear this out. In 2009/10 support provided by community organisations increased 7 per cent from the previous year. There was a 6 per cent increase in the number of people who were turned away after requesting assistance due to a lack of available resources. There was a 73 per cent increase in demand for financial services from the previous year. Vulnerability to climate change (or climate change policy) can be seen as a combination of level of exposure combined with the impact of this exposure, mitigated by adaptive capacity. 2 Low income and disadvantaged groups have enhanced risk on all these dimensions. We therefore believe that all climate change adaptation strategies need to be targeted to the most vulnerable. This includes individuals, families and communities that are financially vulnerable and those who have a higher health risk i.e. aged, young, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people who are homeless, disabled or with compromised health. Examples include: a) Extreme weather events and heatwaves In considering extreme weather events and heatwaves, any strategy must consider that low income households are more vulnerable to heat related illness and even death because they are less likely to have access to cooling devices such as air-conditioning and fans. They also have less capacity to climate proof their homes by installing insulation, shading and cooling systems. This is especially true for low income people living in rental properties, temporary accommodation or low cost housing options such as caravans. 1 IPCC. (2001). IPCC Third Assessment Report: Climate Change 2001. Geneva, Switzerland. 2 Allen Consulting Group, Climate change risk and vulnerability: promoting an efficient adaptation response in Australia, Australian Greenhouse Office, Department of Environment and Heritage, 2005, ix. 4
We wish to note too that the ClimateSmart Home program mentioned on p.57 as providing advice on practical preventative measures in people s homes does not directly address preventative heat measures but only the efficient use of existing measures. For example, access to air-conditioning, fans, insulation and other heat prevention measures is not part of the program. Provision of advice on energy efficiency cannot be counted as a measure to mitigate the effect of heatwaves if these preventative heat measures are not in place. We also know that the risk of damage from extreme weather is likely to be much greater for low income and disadvantaged households. Many of these households are uninsured or underinsured and have limited financial resources to recover from these events. The QCOSS submission to the flood inquiry (http://qcoss.org.au/content/qcoss-submission-floods-inquiry- 2011) addressed some issues relevant to flood insurance. One key point is that low income households renting properties need to have access to low-cost insurance products that would, in addition to contents coverage, cover things such as the costs involved in securing replacement housing following disaster events. A draft strategy that targeted the most vulnerable would need to consider ways in which the state government could encourage and facilitate flexible and affordable offerings from the insurance sector, as well as tackle the more prominent insurance issues associated with the recent Queensland flood events. b) Water security: Low income households will have lower capacity to absorb higher water charges than other households. Increasing water prices will cause additional hardship for vulnerable households and may result in an inability to afford enough water to maintain the basic necessities of life. Consideration must be given to the pricing impacts of any adaptation strategies which require significant capital investment to secure and treat water. Sustainable alternatives to capital investment may be required, or where such cost is unavoidable CSO payments to ensure access to supply for all Queenslanders may be required. Affordability of essential goods and services: utilities, food, health care and transport QCOSS is of the view that affordability of basic needs and essential services is an underrepresented theme in the Queensland Climate Change Adaptation paper. It is increasingly recognised that climate change and policies intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through market forces, such as carbon pricing, will increase the costs of energy and other essential goods and services including food and transport. Some households will be better able to absorb or otherwise respond to these increased costs than others. Cost increases in basic commodities, especially in the context of high housing costs, will contribute further to financial hardship. This will disproportionately be experienced by low income earners, who already spend a higher percentage of their income on essential items than households with higher incomes 3. Appropriate adaptation responses and strategies must involve consideration of the affordability of these needs. Options for climate change adaptation may be unacceptable on the basis of these criteria. Carbon price mitigation strategies have been extensively modelled on the basis of cost and appropriate compensation put in place. It is essential to identify and model adaptation strategies in order to make decisions on whether these strategies are unacceptable on a cost basis. If these strategies are then implemented, then consideration is urged of CSO payments 3 Commonwealth of Australia. The Garnaut Climate Change Review: Final Report. 2008. 5
to offset cost of living increases associated with the implementation of climate change adaptation strategies. Role of community sector QCOSS is of the view that the community services sector is already a key pillar in maintaining and enhancing resilience at a household and community level providing, with governments and others, a safety net for the most vulnerable in society. The impacts of climate change will most likely provide further challenges to this work and this will ensure climate adaptation is an issue of interest for QCOSS for the foreseeable future. Climate change represents a change in the context of the existing activities of the sector. Largely, the impacts of climate change will manifest in changes in the frequency and extent of demands on the sector. It is therefore important for any new program or policy to make maximum use of existing networks and activities. QCOSS submission to the 2011 Flood Enquiry (http://www.qcoss.org.au/content/qcoss-submission-floods-inquiry-2011) made strong recommendations regarding the financial and structural supports needed to enhance networks of community organisations to augment services already provided. This would serve the dual purpose of developing community capacity and using pre-existing networks to respond to planned and unforeseen consequences of climate change and policies related to it. Existing, regional networks include those related to antipoverty, emergency relief, financial counselling, and local government community services forums. Research and Monitoring Monitoring The climate change adaptation strategy needs to include mechanisms to monitor the health and wellbeing of vulnerable communities to provide early warning of negative social impacts and to inform targeted strategies to improve social cohesion. Adaptation strategies should outline such mechanisms. The development of community indicators may be one way that such strategies could tap into existing work. Research agenda The adaptation strategy needs to include the use of comprehensive research to fill knowledge gaps such as: Better understanding of the mental, physical and social health effects of disasters and areas vulnerable to climate change. Policies to protect low income groups from increasing financial pressures as a result of climate change. A comprehensive review of the impacts of climate change on communities and how to sustain and promote healthy communities. It is vital that the substantial amount of research happening in this space is monitored and taken into account in decision-making. Examples include: Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSFR) research on understanding and enhancing social resilience. (http://www.rrrc.org.au/publications/social_resilience_northqueensland.html) 6
CSIRO s SEQ Climate Adaptation Research Initiative (http://www.csiro.au/partnerships/seqcari.html). The Resilience Profiles project (a joint QCOSS-Griffith University Urban Research Program project) is developing an assessment tool for communities to measure resilience in their community through community indicators. It consists of a web database and resources that focus on the human and social elements of resilience. Comments in relation to the human settlements, emergency management and health sections of the issues paper Human Settlements As mentioned in our introduction, it is essential that planning for resilient communities includes the human element and not just concerns about infrastructure. Of vital importance to human and community resilience is: Access and equity in terms of essential services (e.g. Medical, aged care, disability, mental health) Adequate access to transport Affordable housing In addition, provision needs to be made for a range of public spaces for meeting and congregating. These include green spaces such as parks as well as community and neighbourhood centres. The community needs to be involved in planned development and consultation on resources specific to their own needs. Community capacity needs to be further developed through the encouragement of community leadership and volunteering. Other areas vital for developing community capacity and resilience include demographic stability, community wellbeing and happiness and a flourishing local economy supported by appropriate local and state government initiatives. Community wellbeing may be enhanced by encouraging individual participation in community life such as community and civic groups. Such encouragement can be through supporting community events such as festivals, shows and sporting events or by helping to develop an environment that rewards and encourages civic behaviour. Community development programs and associated neighbourhood centres can provide not only a location for community events but are also linked with engagement workers who provide community education and encouragement of community leadership. Support of these programs and centres is vital for developing community resilience. Emergency Management It is vital that emergency management builds relationships with existing community agencies and networks. These relationships need to be developed and maintained so that community leaders are already identified and a clear part of any EM plan. Development of these relationships includes encouragement, resourcing and including communities in planning and disaster management prior to an event. This allows not only for community development but also for efficiencies in EM. 7
Human Health a) Food The section on primary industries identifies declining food production as a consequence of extreme temperatures, decreased rainfall and increasing disasters. This has significant flow on effects to health, particularly for the most vulnerable. This includes increasing cost of fresh food and decreased range of, and nutritional value of, some foods. The Queensland Government needs to: Monitor food prices and affordability in relation to climate and extreme events. Monitor the nutritional value of foods. Expand healthy food and nutrition programs targeting people on low incomes. Integrate climate change and health considerations into food import and regulatory activities. b) Health care In addition to increases in heat stress and injuries resulting from more frequent and extreme weather events, climate change will affect human health through changes in patterns of diseases. The incidence of mosquito, tick and water-borne diseases is likely to increase as a result of changing temperatures, humidity and rainfall 4. Similarly increases in diseases such as asthma and skin cancers are likely to occur in response to climatic changes. More frequent drought and acute natural disasters will contribute to increased mental health problems 5. People with low incomes and those in rural and remote communities are most likely to be negatively affected by the health impacts of climate change due to their increased exposure to climatic changes, reduced access to health services, and reduced financial capacity to access private health care. c) Service delivery The multiple disasters in Queensland in early 2011 identified the need for a co-ordinated approach to information dissemination and delivery of support services for people. The current issues paper focuses on the provision of counselling services. However, service provision for people affected by disasters need to be flexible and bring together the broad range of services required such as mental health, housing, financial and employment support. The adaptation strategy needs to incorporate a case management approach to the delivery of support to people affected by disaster. Much evidence-based research exists around the delivery of such support including Psychological First Aid programs used by agencies such as The Red Cross. These emphasise that support must include multiple steps: 1. Contact and Engagement 2. Safety and Comfort 3. Stabilisation 4. Information Gathering 5. Practical Assistance 4 Green, D. (2006). Climate Change and Health: Impacts on Remote Indigenous Communities in Northern Australia. CSIRO: Australia 5 Blashki, G., McMichael, T. and Karoly, D. (2007). Climate Change and Primary Health Care. Australian Family Physician, 36(12), 986-989. 8
6. Connection with Social Supports 7. Information on Coping 8. Linkage with Collaborative Services. It is through linkage with services and connection with social supports that the social services sector can be best engaged in provision of support services. Thus the sector is a vital part of managing adaption to climate change and QCOSS strongly urges involvement of the sector in any planning for climate change in Queensland. 9