Godden, Lee --- "Legal Frameworks for Local Adaptation in Australia: The Role of Local Government in Water Governance in a Climate Change Era" [2012] ELECD 725; in Richardson, J. Benjamin (ed), "Local Climate Change Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Local Climate Change Law

Editor(s): Richardson, J. Benjamin

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857937476

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: Legal Frameworks for Local Adaptation in Australia: The Role of Local Government in Water Governance in a Climate Change Era

Author(s): Godden, Lee

Number of pages: 28

Extract:

12. Legal frameworks for local
adaptation in Australia: the role of
local government in water
governance in a climate change era
Lee Godden*

1. INTRODUCTION

As the complexities of climate change impacts unfold, it is clear that legal
systems, such as that in Australia, face particular challenges in the local
sphere. Climate science provides general guidance on climate change
impacts, and that knowledge is growing more precise, but there remain
substantial areas of uncertainty at local levels. Accordingly, local climate
change law will play an important role in fostering effective and dynamic
localized mitigation and adaptation. Some mitigation of greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions can be achieved at the local level, and indeed within
Australia some mitigation measures around renewable technologies and
energy efficiency have been locally implemented. It is clear though, that the
key drivers for mitigation will occur primarily through national and State law
and policy, especially now that Australia has introduced a national carbon
pricing scheme/emissions trading scheme.1 Conversely, the focus of adapta-
tion policy is largely at local and regional scales, `these will be the scales at
which adaptation must be conceived, implemented and realised'.2 For these
reasons, the chapter focuses predominately upon adaptation when discussing



* The author acknowledges the funding provided by the Australian Research
Council Grant, DP0987850 Responding to Climate Change: Australia's Environmental
Law and Regulatory Framework.
1 Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth). For an overview, see Lisa Caripis et al., `Notes
from the Field: Australia's Carbon Pricing Mechanism' (2011) ...