Perhaps climate change will go away if we ignore it. That seems to be Bill English’s position:
English said it was “possible” the [Edgecumbe] flooding was linked to climate change but the Government didn’t spend time trying to make that connection.
No need to understand our problems, better to close our eyes to them.
“We are pretty focussed on trying to deal with the impacts of it and the regularity of these sorts of events is certainly heightening the understanding at central and local government about managing risk better.”
The problem with parking the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff is that it isn’t going to stop the trickle of climate change victims turning into a flood.
Asked if some areas of New Zealand would eventually need to be abandoned because of climate change, English said changes in the Resource Management Act meant councils would be much more careful about locating new developments in areas prone to natural hazards.
The answer to the question that English avoided, is yes.
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