Navigating The Rising Tide

Combating climate change with the power of location technology.

From extreme weather events to worsening air quality, decreasing biodiversity to rising sea levels, climate change is set to be a major policy challenge for Aotearoa in the coming decades. 

New Zealand’s economy – perhaps more than others – is intimately linked to climate. With a climate future that’s closely tied to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and an economy that’s still heavily dependent on agricultural output and an array of coastal cities, climate change is a systemic risk that must be addressed now.

With new regulations from the Government changing the way our finance sector must manage environmental risks, this timely event will see industry experts discuss the threat of sea level rise and its impact on the insurance and banking sector – and how location-enabled technology might be a solution. 

Building climate-smart strategies is no easy feat. Location technology is an indispensable tool in reporting, mitigating and managing environmental risks and impacts.

Supported by:

Speakers

Xinyu Fu - Lecturer of Environmental Planning - University of Waikato

Xinyu Fu is a Lecturer of Environmental Planning at the University of Waikato. He is an urban planner/civil engineer by training and a US certified planner (AICP). His research interests centre on how to make cities more resilient in the face of climate change and other natural hazards from an interdisciplinary lens. Xinyu has published over 20 journal articles in leading planning/ geographer/ environmental journals, and is now working in a national team on a five-year MIBE grant to revolutionise flood risk management in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Michael Allis - Senior Associate - Coastal Engineering, Resilience and Adaption - Beca

Dr Allis is a Coastal Engineer with over 10 years’ experience in the coastal hazards sector in a range of engineering and applied science/research roles. He has experience with geospatial hazard exposure-vulnerability-risk assessments at local and national scales for a variety of national, regional and district councils and within the private sector for banking, power and utilities clients. This includes involvement throughout the long-term planning process across relevant hazards assessments, collaborating with socio-cultural engagement specialists, option and pathway evaluation, implementation planning and monitor/review tasks. He has experience creating and communicating robust strategies for managing and adapting to coastal effects of climate change with specific consideration of developing options and pathways which blend community needs/expectations with engineering limitations and hazards.