What influences the adaptive capacity of coastal critical infrastructure providers?

Abstract

Maintaining critical infrastructure functionality in the face of climate change through adaptation is a pressing issue for organisations responsible for critical infrastructure – especially in coastal areas. It is equally pressing to ensure those organisations have the capacity to adapt. The Adaptive Capacity Wheel was used to understand perceptions of the adaptive capacity held by critical infrastructure providers who have assets in locations at risk to the impacts of coastal hazards in Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand. The findings demonstrate that those in executive management positions perceive the level of adaptive capacity to be higher than those at lower organisational levels. This is problematic as those tasked with implementing adaptive actions generally sit below the executive level. Leadership was overwhelmingly recognised as the most important element of adaptive capacity and dependencies emerged between leadership and other indicators of adaptive capacity. This article provides valuable insights into how critical infrastructure providers in Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand are equipped to adapt to climate change. The findings indicate that building adaptive capacity within these organisations will begin with looking at the capabilities of the leadership.