新南威尔士州正面临日益严峻的海岸洪水危机，这一气候变化影响被普遍低估。[1] 该州约85%的人口居住在距海岸50公里以内，[1] 数十万低洼地区居民正承受风险。2022年2月28日晚，居民弗吉尼亚·琼斯的家园被海水淹没，水位上升至墙壁30厘米处。[1] 根据中等排放情景预测，新南威尔士州港口到本世纪末海平面预计上升37至73厘米。[1]
应对这一危机的准备工作进展缓慢。新南威尔士州审计办公室2023年9月的报告显示，55个沿海委会中仅16个至少完成了一份应对计划。[1] 面对这一挑战，政府正在制定包含多项策略的沿海管理方案，包括托管撤退、软工程防御和仿生城市等举措。[1] 新南威尔士州重建局提出的托管迁移政策预计今年晚些时候完成。[1] CSIRO气候经济学家罗素·怀斯表示，"我们需要讨论从高风险区域的托管撤退"。[1] 此外，澳大利亚地方政府协会要求联邦政府创建年度4亿澳元的适应基金。[1]
Australia's New South Wales faces escalating threats from coastal flooding driven by rising sea levels and intensifying extreme weather, a climate crisis that has received insufficient policy attention. Approximately 85 percent of the state's population lives within 50 kilometers of the coastline [1], placing hundreds of thousands of residents in vulnerable low-lying areas. According to CSIRO climate economics projections, sea levels in NSW ports are expected to rise between 37 and 73 centimeters by the end of the century under moderate emissions scenarios [1].
The urgency of the crisis became apparent when resident Virginia Jones saw her home inundated by seawater on the evening of February 28, 2022, with water rising to 30 centimeters up her walls [1]. Despite this mounting threat, coastal planning remains inadequate: a New South Wales Audit Office report from September 2023 found that only 16 of 55 coastal councils had completed at least one relevant plan [1]. CSIRO climate economist Russell Wise has called for action, stating that "we need to discuss managed retreat from high-risk areas" [1].
The New South Wales government is developing responses including coastal management planning and exploring adaptation approaches such as managed retreat, soft engineering defenses, and biomimetic urban design [1]. A managed relocation policy framework from the NSW Reconstruction Authority is expected to be finalized later this year [1]. Meanwhile, the Australian Local Government Association has urged the federal government to establish a permanent 400 million Australian dollar annual adaptation fund [1].