Coasts, capital and climate change: harnessing private investment for coastal adaptation and resilience

Helping coastal communities adapt to the impacts of climate change is a key challenge in Australia and many countries overseas. Contrary to many other nations, coastal protection and management is not a federal responsibility in Australia; rather it is a mix of state and local obligations. Similarly, adaptation to climate change is also devolved, primarily to local governments. Climate change represents increased risks to coastal communities, as well as the natural and built environment. The problem with the current arrangement of responsibilities is that protecting coastal assets can be a costly exercise that is often beyond the capacity of local governments budgets. The norm is to seek funding from State government, or to self-funding activities. However, inevitably these sources of funding will not be sufficient, because the scale of investment needed to protect coastal assets is estimated to reach over $226 billion, while the cost of damages from natural disaster alone is forecasted to escalate to more than $33 billion by 2050 (Steffen et al 2017; Deloitte Access Economics 2016). It appears logical to look to the private sector to fill the adaptation finance gap, which possesses the necessary scale of capital. But are adaptation and climate resilient projects investable assets? Who would finance such projects and how? Although there are no simple answers, recent studies offer guidance on what it would take to harness private sector investment for coastal adaptation and resilience