Barriers to climate change adaption in the Australian property industry

Abstract

PurposeTo identify barriers to climate change adaptation in the Australian property industry.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews with twenty-four stakeholders from a diverse cross-section of the Australian property industry were undertaken in 2018 and 2019.FindingsA range of barriers to action on climate change were identified. These barriers centre around (1) information: lack of clear, reliable, and trusted sources of climate change information; (2) cost: competing economic demands, and the perceived threat that investing in climate change action poses to competitiveness; and (3) regulation: the inaction of governments thus failing to provide a regulatory environment to address climate change.Research limitations/implicationsThe qualitative research provides perspectives from actors in different sectors of the Australian property industry. While it provides an in-depth understanding of the barriers to addressing climate change adaptation, it is not necessarily a nationally representative sample.Practical implicationsThe study identifies barriers to climate change adaptation, and establishes practical ways in which the Australian property industry can address these barriers and the role that government regulation could have in generating industry-wide change.Social implicationsClimate change poses significant challenges to society. Built environments are significant contributors to climate change, and thus the property industry is well-placed to make positive contributions to this global challenge.Originality/valueLimited research has examined barriers to climate change action in the property industry. This research provides novel insights from the perspective of key actors across a diverse range of property industry sectors. This new knowledge fills an important gap in understanding how to address climate change in Australia and broader contexts.