The Sydney Coastal Councils Group (SCCG) undertook a project in 2013 Prioritising Coastal Adaptation Development Options for Local Government to provide guidance to decision-makers on the variables that shape responses to climate change. The project explored prioritisation of adaption options in response to coastal inundation and erosion. It integrated information on exposure and risk, feasible adaptation strategies and the multiple values that influence local government decision-making, including governance, economic, social and environmental. It also developed a broad range of criteria to evaluate the performance of adaptation strategies.

The project addressed the need of local government for guidance on assessing adaptation options, via a participatory, multi-criteria analysis (MCA) of interventions that considered the adaptation preferences and risk exposure of local government areas.

This project demonstrates how different values in local government decision-making and preferences regarding adaptation options can be integrated with information on hazards, assets, and the performance of different adaptation options to identify optimal adaptation pathways for councils. The project also explored opportunities for monitoring and reporting on coastal adaptation efforts, to support a more integrated approach to coastal adaptation in local government.

This case study was prepared by NCCARF. Please cite as: NCCARF, 2024: From the archive; The Sydney Coastal Councils Group experience – Prioritising coastal adaptation options at the local level. Case study for CoastAdapt, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Griffith University, Gold Coast.