Placing communities at the centre of climate adaptation

Feedback on Victoria’s draft 2027-31 Adaptation Action Plans (AAPs).

Climate adaptation is a social justice issue. Without explicit and sustained focus on actions targeted towards people experiencing poverty and disadvantage, the 2027-31 AAPs will miss a golden opportunity to address these systemic challenges. Ignoring the opportunity climate adaptation presents for local economic advancement also condemns the most vulnerable cohort of Victorians to being left behind along Victoria’s path to net zero. Therefore, climate adaptation is also a vital economic and investment issue. Executed effectively, climate adaptation can be a powerful lever for inclusive economic development. This submission provides insights on how Victoria’s adaptation agenda can act as that lever, with locally led decision-making and community service engagement as its key pillars.

VCOSS is pleased to see discussion of self-determined climate adaptation for First Peoples in Victoria embedded across the AAPs. We are also pleased to see the integration of adaptation with emergency management and disaster resilience agendas.

However, we are concerned that the draft AAPs focus primarily on Victorian Government operations, leaving out the ‘on the ground’ adaptation that happens within communities and throughout the community services sector. We are concerned that, without focus on these areas and without centring justice, equity and self-determination in concrete actions, the AAPs have the potential to entrench poverty and disadvantage.

The draft plans include a number of positive actions that we are pleased to see. This submission makes recommendations to ensure these actions are done equitably and with justice at the centre.

This submission focuses primarily on the following AAPs, noting VCOSS member priorities:

• Health and Human Services
• Built Environment
• Education and Training
• Transport