Environment | Statewide

Key points

Tasmania's climate is expected to become warmer and drier.

There will be more extreme weather events.

As an island state, projected sea level rise will impact most coastal communities.

The planning system can support both adaptation and mitigation responses.

Background

Climate change is a serious and complex issue that presents challenges and opportunities for Tasmania. Climate change is a change in global climate patterns over many decades that has been caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from burning coal, oil and gas.

The predicted effects for Tasmania include:

  • significant changes in rainfall patterns
  • a rise in annual average temperatures
  • more hot days and heatwaves
  • fewer frosts
  • longer fire seasons and more days of high fire danger
  • an increase in storms resulting in flooding and coastal erosion
  • a rise in sea levels
  • increased ocean acidification and water temperature.

There is a range of scientific information available about the projected impacts of climate change at the local, national and international levels.

The Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008 (the Act) sets the Tasmanian Government’s legislative framework for action on climate change. This Act was amended in 2022 and set a new goal – a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for Tasmania of net zero emissions, or lower, from 2030. This was based on Tasmania having reached its previous target on 27 November 2020.

Regulatory systems and organisations need to work together to respond to and mitigate the impacts of climate change. The planning system provides an opportunity to do this.

The planning system can support both mitigation and adaptation responses to climate change. Mitigation seeks to reduce emissions that cause climate change, while adaptation seeks to prepare communities to adapt to the changes resulting from climate change.

How is this managed within the planning system?

The planning system, through the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993, works in combination with other legislation to respond to climate change. Climate change policy is integrated across all areas of decision making in the planning system.

Resource Managment and Planning System

The Resource Management and Planning System (RMPS) is focused on promoting the sustainable development of our natural and physical resources. This has direct links to addressing climate change through the planning system and other regulatory systems under the RMPS. The State Coastal Policy 1996 also requires other organisations policies, plans and strategies to respond to the potential effects of climate change on use and development in coastal areas, such as the impacts of sea level rise.

The planning system can contribute to both direct and indirect responses to climate change. This includes minimising the community’s vulnerability to natural hazards that are likely to be increased by climate change, such as bushfire, riverine and coastal flooding, and coastal erosion. Planning seeks to lower the community’s exposure to these risks, firstly by avoiding the risk and then, if required, by managing the risk. This involves both avoiding use and development in areas potentially exposed to natural hazards and applying specific land use and development controls to reduce impacts.

Please see Natural Hazards for more information on how the planning system manages natural hazards increased by climate change.

The way we plan our settlements can also make significant contributions towards mitigating climate change. For example, by consolidating our settlements we make better use of existing infrastructure, improving access to public and active transport networks. While this provides for more efficient settlements, it also helps to reduce resource consumption and lowers emissions that contribute to climate change.

Tasmanian Planning Policies

The draft Tasmanian Planning Policies (TPPs) integrate climate change through each of the seven policy areas they address. They provide clear statements on how the various policies help address the causes and impacts of climate change. These inform the various strategies covered by the draft TPPs, including:

  • prioritising consolidation of our settlements by encouraging infill development, redevelopment and intensification of under-utilised land
  • maximising the use of available capacity within existing infrastructure networks and services
  • encouraging higher density development in suitable locations
  • supporting more sustainable designs to be more energy-efficient, address temperature extremes and reduce carbon emissions
  • protecting a range of environmental values
  • reducing the risk to human life, property and infrastructure from environmental hazards likely to increase with climate change
  • supporting investment in renewable energy.

The TPPs are implemented through regional land use strategies and the Tasmanian Planning Scheme (TPS).

Regional planning processes are the main way that the TPPs are implemented through regional land use strategies. The existing regional land use strategies include a number of strategies for addressing climate change. They include the consolidation of settlements to reduce resource consumption and lower emissions, and managing the impacts from natural hazards increased by climate change. The regional land use strategies inform the application of zones and codes in the TPS.

For more information, please see Planning System/Tasmanian Planning Policies and Planning System/Regional Planning.

Tasmanian Planning Scheme

The TPS has the requirements for determining applications for use and development. While these only apply when use or development is proposed, they provide a number of important approaches for addressing climate change matters, including carbon emission reduction and mitigation measures and climate change adaptation measures.

The TPS has a range of exemptions that can help address climate change. These include exemptions for vegetation rehabilitation works such as land care activities, electric car chargers, and domestic renewable energy installations such as solar panels.

Exempting works involving vegetation rehabilitation and conservation works recognises the value of vegetation cover and works towards reducing heat and carbon. The renewable energy exemptions support domestic scale renewable energy facilities that can further assist Tasmania with its already advanced renewable energy network.

The zones for settlement areas in the TPS encourage infill development opportunities and the better use of existing services and infrastructure through the application of urban residential zones. The zone requirements aim to deliver improved urban accessibility by creating more compact and walkable neighbourhoods with a mix of land uses that help to reduce transport emissions. The planning rules in the residential zones also require the efficient and safe movement of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport through new subdivisions, with connections to adjoining networks. This assists the minimisation of travel distances to key destinations such as shops, services and public transport routes.

The TPS also encourages the use of more sustainable forms of transport by identifying streets prioritised for pedestrians, and reduced car parking requirements in specific precincts, through the Parking and Sustainable Transport Code.

In addition, the TPS includes codes that help to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation measures for natural values and natural hazards. The Natural Assets Code, in conjunction with other legislation, contains planning requirements for the protection of priority vegetation, wetlands and watercourses, and future coastal refugia areas, to assist with the protection of biodiversity and other natural values in conjunction with other legislation. Future coastal refugia areas identify land for the potential movement of coastal habitats, such as wetlands and saltmarshes, with future tidal inundation and erosion resulting from climate change.

Please see Nature Conservation for more information.

The TPS also includes codes to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of natural hazards such as bushfire, coastal erosion and inundation, flooding and landslip hazards that are likely to be exacerbated by climate change.

Please see Natural Hazards for more information on how the planning system manages natural hazards increased by climate change.

Who does what?

All areas of state and local government have a responsibility for addressing climate change.

Parliament and the Minister

The Minister sets the overall direction for the planning system through the approval and amendment of the:

  • TPPs
  • regional land use strategies, in partnership with local government and state agencies
  • planning rules in the State Planning Provisions of the TPS.

These processes involve public consultation and independent review by the Commission.

Both Houses of Parliament are responsible for the making and amending of state policies, like the State Coastal Policy 1996. This is based on community and industry input, expert advice from relevant state departments and councils and independent review by the Commission.

Local government

Councils are central to administering the TPS, and handle the bulk of development applications in Tasmania, including assessing compliance with the zone and code requirements. Councils are also responsible for applying the zones and codes to the land in their municipality through their Local Provisions Schedule in the TPS. The Tasmanian Planning Commission (the Commission) approves each council’s Local Provision Schedule in accordance with the requirements in the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993, including consistency with future TPPs and regional land use strategies.

State agency

Renewable, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania (ReCFIT) in the Department of State Growth is the main government agency with responsibility for climate change and renewable energy. They administer the legislation, and undertake key policy development, for example, how to achieve the new renewable energy target, and track change. The Tasmanian Government recently legislated a new Tasmanian Renewable Energy Target to double our renewable energy production and reach 200% of our current electricity needs by 2040.

Please see Who Does What for the full explanation of ReCFIT’s role.

Infrastructure providers develop and maintain supply networks that meet the population’s needs and also meet environmental standards.

More information

Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania (recfit.tas.gov.au)

Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) has a range of information about how to improve the design of buildings, retrofit a building and run a building more efficiently. Energy efficiency for new homes (cbos.tas.gov.au)

Some of the main sources of information about climate change for Tasmania are: