Practical support to help councils manage climate-related risks
LGA is leading an innovative new project Embedding Climate Risk into Governance and Financial Decision-Making in Local Government to help councils incorporate climate related risks into the governance, financial and organisational decisions they already make.
What will councils get?
Councils are already making decisions about long-term infrastructure investment, asset management, financial sustainability, service delivery and risk.
Climate-related risks are becoming increasingly relevant to these decisions, including:
- extreme weather and changing climate conditions
- Impacts on infrastructure and assets
- disruption to services and operations
- insurance availability and affordability
- supply chain impacts
- access to funding and finance
- emerging expectations around climate risk disclosure and reporting.
The project will provide practical resources and support to help councils consider these risks as part of their existing planning, investment, risk and oversight processes.
The resources will include:
- practical tools and guidance to integrate climate-related risks into governance, financial planning, risk management and asset management
- specialist advice and implementation support
- webinars, workshops and opportunities to learn from other councils
- practical examples and case studies as councils begin applying the resources.
Importantly, councils do not need to have a climate strategy or formal climate risk assessment in place to use the resources.
The toolkit is being designed to support councils at different stages of capability and readiness with multiple entry points depending on each council’s existing policies, priorities and available resources.
Get involved
Councils are invited to register their interest in participating in the co-design and testing of the resources.
What happens next?
The final toolkit and resources are expected to be available from December 2026, followed by implementation support through to September 2027 aligned with the conclusion of the LGA Climate Change Support Advisor Pilot.
Implementation support will include discipline-specific sessions, peer learning, case studies and direct support, with a particular focus on helping regional, smaller and lower-resourced councils apply the resources in practice.
The Embedding Climate Risk into Governance and Financial Decision-Making Project is being developed with councils, for councils, with support from:
- LGA Mutual
- Local Government Risk Services
- LGA Asset Mutual Fund
- SA Local Government Finance Authority
- SA Local Government Financial Management Group
- SA Local Government Auditors Group.
The project is a key initiative of the LGA Climate Change Support Advisor two-year Pilot, funded through the Local Government Research and Development Scheme.