Jayasinghe Anuradhi Dulangi, Le Compete Forsyth Stewart Philip
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland Brisbane, Steele Building, St Lucia, Australia.
Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecological Research Unit (ABEERU), College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Chang. 2022;27(4):28. doi: 10.1007/s11027-022-10004-x. Epub 2022 May 31.
The consequences of climate change are profound for the residential building industry and, unless appropriate adaptation strategies are implemented, will increase exponentially. The consequences of climate change, such as increased repair costs, can be reduced if buildings are designed and built to be adaptive to climate change risks. This research investigates the preparedness of the Australian residential building sector to adapt to such risks, with a view to informing the next review of the National Construction Code (2022), which at present does not include provisions for climate change adaptation. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with construction managers from residential building companies in Brisbane, Queensland to understand their level of preparedness to adapt with climate change risks. Three aspects of preparedness were investigated: participant's awareness of climate change risks, their company's capacity to include climate change information in planning, and actions taken to address climate change risks. Participants were also asked about climate change adaptation policies and what they thought the path towards increased preparedness in the residential construction industry to climate change risks might involve. Qualitative analysis of interview data was undertaken using NVivo software, and illustrative examples and direct quotes from this data are included in the results. The results indicate a low level of preparedness of the residential building industry to adapt with climate risks. Levels of awareness of managing the consequences of climate change risks, analytical capacity, and the actions taken to address climate change were all found to be low. Legislating climate adaptation practices and increasing the adaptation awareness of the residential constructors are some of the recommendations to enhance the preparedness of the residential construction industry in Australia to adapt with climate change risks.
气候变化对住宅建筑行业影响深远，若不实施适当的适应策略，影响将呈指数级增长。如果建筑物在设计和建造时考虑到适应气候变化风险，气候变化的后果，如维修成本增加等，是可以降低的。本研究调查了澳大利亚住宅建筑行业应对此类风险的准备情况，旨在为《国家建筑规范》（2022年）的下一次审查提供参考，目前该规范未包含气候变化适应条款。对昆士兰州布里斯班住宅建筑公司的施工经理进行了12次半结构化访谈，以了解他们应对气候变化风险的准备程度。研究了准备情况的三个方面：参与者对气候变化风险的认识、其公司在规划中纳入气候变化信息的能力，以及为应对气候变化风险采取的行动。还询问了参与者关于气候变化适应政策，以及他们认为住宅建筑行业提高应对气候变化风险准备程度的途径可能包括哪些。使用NVivo软件对访谈数据进行了定性分析，结果中包含了该数据的示例和直接引语。结果表明，住宅建筑行业应对气候风险的准备程度较低。应对气候变化风险后果的意识水平、分析能力以及为应对气候变化采取的行动均处于较低水平。立法规范气候适应做法以及提高住宅建筑商的适应意识，是提高澳大利亚住宅建筑行业应对气候变化风险准备程度的一些建议。
