The Victorian Government is now accepting submissions for it's Climate Change Strategy from 2026-2030. Scroll down to see how the Act on Climate collective suggests you include climate adaptation in your survey responses. These suggestions are focused on equitable climate adaptation, which is community-led, centres First Nations knowledge, and leaves no one behind.

Note: There's so much you can say on climate change in this consultation, and mitigating the effects of climate change is just as important as climate adaptation! Our recommendations are focused on bringing adaptation into the conversation, but we acknowledge there's so much more work to be done.

See below Act on Climate's suggestions to include climate adaptation in your survey responses. 

Survey Questions and Recommended Responses:

Are you completing this survey as an individual or on behalf of an organisation?

Select: As an individual

What would make Victoria’s 2026-30 Climate Change Strategy most valuable or useful to you?

Here are some points you can make about climate adaptation:

• Provide clarity around what Victoria's climate risks are, and who's responsible for responding to them on multiple governance levels
• Adequately and continuously support strong climate adaptation according to individual communities’ needs by investing in a Victorian Community Climate Adaptation Fund
• Provide communities with the knowledge to understand the risks facing them and who will be most impacted
• Afford communities the self-determination to decide how they will adapt, and equip them with the resources necessary to implement their chosen adaptation solutions.
• Ensure adaptation is just and Indigenous-led by taking into account and addressing multiple and intersecting injustices,
• Enhance the adaptive capacities of people, places and ecosystems in all their diversities
• Learn from and integrate practices and knowledges of First Nations people

What are your main concerns about climate change in Victoria?

Select up to 3 responses, we recommend these ones related to adaptation: 

• My community’s ability to prepare for and respond to the impacts of increased extreme weather events (such as heatwaves, bushfires, droughts and extreme rainfall)
• Level of government action in response to climate change
• Impacts on people who have limited means to adapt to climate change

What is most important to you in the Victorian Government response to climate change?

Select up to 3 responses, we recommend these ones related to adaptation: 

• Ensuring communities are well-prepared and resilient to the impacts of extreme weather events
• Reducing emissions
• Supporting vulnerable communities

What do you see as the biggest opportunities and benefits of taking action on climate change?

Here are some points you can make about climate adaptation:

• Investing in climate mitigation and adaptation will lead to better health outcomes and reduce the cost of living. This will decrease the burden on healthcare, our economy, and families and individuals. For example, retrofitting houses through the Victorian Healthy Homes program resulted in $887 saved in healthcare costs per person over a single 3-month winter period 
• Investing in climate adaptation now will save spending on disaster response.  A $1 investment in climate adaptation has been estimated to save between $2-$11 in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction costs. The impacts of sea level rise and storm surges alone are estimated to cost Victoria $442 billion by 2100 
• Funding climate adaptation will help to alleviate the insurability crisis
• Investing in community-led climate adaptation projects will lead to contextually-appropriate and relevant solutions
• Increased action on mitigation will reduce the need to adapt 

What do you think is most important to reducing Victoria’s emissions and achieving net-zero by 2045?

Select up to 3 responses, we recommend these ones related to adaptation: 

• Shifting to renewable electricity sources like wind and solar
• Switching to electricity in homes and businesses for heating, cooling and cooking
• Protecting and enhancing Victoria’s forests and other natural ecosystems

What do you see as the main challenges in reducing greenhouse gas emissions?

This question isn't relevant to climate adaptation, you can write what you want, or skip it.

What could the Victorian Government do to help you to reduce emissions?

There are many things they could do, here are just a handful of ideas:

• Incentivise and provide retrofitting for houses and dwellings that have inefficient heating/cooling
• Incentivise and establish more green spaces which include canopy cover and heat island cooling
• Provide renewable energy sources for community centres and neighbourhood houses
  
• Create walkable and bikeable cities/infrastructure so people are less reliant on cars

What is most important to you in managing the increasing impacts of climate change across Victoria?

All of the options are important but for climate adaptation to be equitable, it needs to prioritise First Nations knowledge, be community-led and ensure no one is left behind.

• Ensuring resources are directed to people with limited means to adapt to the impacts of climate change
• Upskilling community leaders and emergency services personnel to better adapt to climate-related hazards and extreme weather events
• Supporting First Nations people in Caring for Country, and prioritising self-determination in planning for and responding to climate impacts

What do you see as the biggest challenges in managing the increasing impacts of climate change?

There are currently many challenges to managing the increasing impacts of climate change. Some include: 

• A lack of consistent, overarching data in terms of risks and impacted areas 
• A lack of funding for the state Adaptation Action Plans from 2022, including a lack of staffing and initiatives being spread thin 
• A lack of permanent or ongoing funding in general for community-led adaptation

What could the Victorian Government do to help you manage the increasing impacts of climate change?

The Victorian Government could: 

• Provide adequate and ongoing funding for community-led climate adaptation, through a Victorian Community Climate Adaptation Fund 
• Update building standards and planning policies to be more adaptive 
• Improve education and training programs related to climate adaptation
• Retrofit and upgrade buildings for climate impacts
• Develop green infrastructure 
• Publish consistent, updated and public risk assessments 
• Restore and protect ecosystems 
• Support and coordinate with local communities on adaptation initiatives 
• Build safer rentals 
• Retreat and halt development in unsafe areas 
• Improve public and active transport systems 
• Create more refuges and cool safe spaces 
• Provide energy security solutions to communities 
• Facilitate communities connecting and building networks 
• Enable local food production
• Clarify roles and who is responsible for what in climate adaptation 
• Improve warning systems for climate emergencies

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

• The Victorian government must improve its consultation strategies. Victorian communities already know what they need to adapt to the changing climate, they just need some guidance and the resources to enact their ideas. Those most at risk of climate impacts in the community must have their voices heard and ideas accurately represented
• The Victorian government must provide ONGOING funding, as climate impacts are here to stay. Previous funding through the VCCIP and 3CA grants program was very popular, but was not ongoing and was quickly oversubscribed.
• Listen to and fund First Nations knowledge and practices around Caring for Country

There are so many things the government could be doing to progress community-led climate adaptation and lessen the negative impacts on Victorians. Now is the time to use your voice to push them to act. Follow the link to fill out the survey: https://engage.vic.gov.au/climate-change-strategy